MORRIS COUNTY — Laura Marie Ali is set to secure another term as the Morris County Republican chair as no challengers have filed for Saturday’s election. This means Ali will remain at the helm of one of New Jersey’s largest Republican counties, overseeing the 2025 gubernatorial primary.
The filing deadline, which ended today at noon, passed without any contenders stepping forward.
In an effort to restore the disrupted schedule caused by the canceled 2020 election due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ali announced on Sunday her intention to hold a party leadership election in 2023. Despite her term not expiring until next year, Ali sought to eliminate any possible misconceptions.
“With the good of the party in mind and the hope of bringing all of this negativity to an end – so we can become one united Morris County Republican Party – I am proposing the following: I, along with our MCRC Executive Board, will sacrifice a year of our term and run for re-election now,” she said.
Now, with no opponent, she expects Morris County Republicans to unite behind the party organization.
According to NJGlobe, Ali became acting county chair in November 2019 after Ron DeFilippis stepped down for health reasons. He had won the post in 2018 by a narrow four-vote margin, defeating Rob Zwigard by a vote of 242 to 239.
In 2020, she won the post without opposition after Zwigard and former Morris County Commissioner John Inglesino declined to run.
Ali was unopposed in 2022 after 87% of Morris GOP municipal chairs endorsed her for re-election.
