6 Cool Insights Into How Brick and Ocean County Voted

Now that the dust has settled on this week’s election, it’s time to begin mining the data produced by voters to identify trends and gain some insight into what matters most to local residents.

We combed through the numbers and came up with a few unique facts about Brick, and Ocean County as a whole, that we thought you might find interesting.

Brick Voted Overwhelmingly for Trump, But Deviated Locally

As has become a trend in Brick in recent years, voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Republican candidates for president, congress and county offices, but when it came to local issues, favored Democrats. Trump won 24,136 votes in Brick, compared to just 11,610 for Hillary Clinton. That’s a 65 percent (to 31 percent) victory for the GOP businessman who won the presidency this week.

There were no municipal offices on the ballot, however voters resoundingly elected two school board candidates who were aligned with the Democratic party. Melita Gagliardi and Daisy Haffner received 10,733 and 12,275 votes each, respectively.

Trump Had His Biggest Victory in Lakewood

Of all the municipalities in Ocean County, Lakewood provided Trump with his biggest statistical victory. He won 17,914 votes there, compared with 5,841 for Clinton – a 74 percent to 24 percent victory.

Brick Residents Participated More Than Their Neighbors

Brick came out to vote in a big way. Ocean County’s average voter turnout was 62.09 percent. Brick’s was 66.1 percent. Overall, 277,656 votes were cast county-wide.

Congratulations, Brick District 2. You Outvoted Everyone!

Brick’s second voting district, which is located in a small area of Herbertsville along the Manasquan River, adjacent to Marine Max and the River Rock restaurant, participated to the tune of 74.39 percent. 

Clinton Won a Majority in One Ocean County Town

In solidly-red Ocean County, it is no surprise that Clinton did not receive a majority of votes. But it’s surprising that even in the county’s most solidly-Democratic town, South Toms River, Clinton still lost to Trump. One town reversed the trend. Harvey Cedars, a small town in the northern reaches of Long Beach Island, handed Clinton her only victory county-wide. In the affluent island community, the Democratic candidate won 141 votes, compared to Trump’s 129 – a 49 percent to 44 percent victory.

In Ocean County, Parties Count

For county-wide offices, independent candidates received the fewest votes. Though incumbent GOP candidates for freeholder and sheriff were handily re-elected, independent candidates fared significantly worse than the Democrats who ran unsuccessfully.

John Novak, the mayor of Barnegat Township who ran as an independent for county freeholder, received just 12,949 votes county-wide. In comparison, Ed Wolff and Michael B. Cooke, the two Democratic challengers, received 80,242 and 76,188 votes, respectively. The winners, Jack Kelly and Virginia Haines, won 149,712 and 151,235 votes, respectively.

In the race for county sheriff, independent Michael G. Osborn likewise received the lowest vote total, with 12,475 votes. The career sheriff’s officer lost to not only incumbent sheriff Michael Mastronardy with 163,705 votes, but Ocean County Library workers Sal Ottaviano, who received 67,019 votes running as a Democrat.