More than 70 percent of Monmouth County's registered voters turned out for the Nov. 4 election, with most voting for Republican candidates.

 

A total of 312,463 voters, 73 percent, cast ballots in the county. Although Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the election for president and vice president, a slim majority of Monmouth County voters (51 percent) voted for Republicans John Mc- Cain and Sarah Palin, according to the Monmouth County Clerk's Office.

In the county, 159,461 voters cast ballots for the McCain and Palin ticket and 147,424 voters cast ballots for the Obama and Biden ticket.

None of the other tickets running for the presidency and vice presidency, including the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, and the Independent Party's Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez, garnered 1 percent of the votes. Of the other parties, Nader and Gonzalez earned the most votes in the county with 1,923 (0.62 percent).

Monmouth County voters chose Republican Dick Zimmer over Democrat Frank Lautenberg for the U.S. Senate seat. Zimmer polled 149,353 votes to Lautenberg's 131,071 votes. Lautenberg was re-elected to a fifth term when all the votes were counted in New Jersey.

Republican Christopher Smith held on to his U.S. House of Representatives seat in the fourth district, earning 55,477 votes (70 percent) to newcomer Democrat Joshua M. Zeitz's 22,085 votes. Green Party candidate Steven Welzer earned almost 2 percent of votes for the seat with 1,573 votes.

Monmouth County voters reelected Republican Lillian G. Burry to the Board of Freeholders. Burry was the top vote-getter in the race for two open seats. As of Nov. 5, Democrat Amy A. Mallet is in the lead for the second seat with 135,688 votes. Republican John Curley trails just behind Mallet with 135,670 in the race that was too close to call on Election Day. Mallet's running mate Glenn Mason polled 127,699 votes.

Allentown voters elected Republicans Michael Schumacher and Margaret A. Armenante to serve three-year terms on the Borough Council in the only contested race in the Examiner's coverage area.

Schumacher and Armenante bested Democrat Wayne R. Smith, with Schumacher earning the most votes at 586. Armenante garnered 514 votes and Smith received 448 votes.

In the uncontested Millstone Township Committee election, Republican Michael T. Kuczinski polled 3,420 votes and his running mate Fiore Masci received 3,328 votes to win three-year terms.

In the uncontested Roosevelt Borough Council race, Democrats Jeffrey Ellentuck and Daniel J. Hoffman were both re-elected to their three-year seats. Ellentuck received 346 votes and Hoffman polled 320 votes.

Upper Freehold Township Republican Robert Frascella was reelected to a three-year term on the Township Committee with 2,557 votes.