MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Republican Chair Laura Marie Ali has been named the new Chair of the Chairs, a group consisting of GOP leaders from all 21 counties in New Jersey.
This new role could potentially benefit State Senator Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), one of four Republican gubernatorial candidates, as Ali spoke at Bramnick’s campaign kickoff in January. However, Ali also played a key role in preventing a conflict over the position between supporters of two other gubernatorial candidates, Jack Ciattarelli and Bill Spadea.
Ali takes over from Hudson County GOP Chairman Jose Arango, who was term-limited and is joined by Linwood Donelson of Salem as first vice chairman, Gabe Plumer of Hunterdon as second vice chairman, and Tracey DiFrancesco of Somerset as secretary. They all received two-year terms, and Ali became the first woman to hold the position.
Ali initially became acting county chair in November 2019 after Ron DeFilippis stepped down for health reasons. DeFilippis had narrowly won the role in 2018, defeating Rob Zwigard by just three votes. Ali has run unopposed in all of her county chair races since.
