New Jersey

https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/breaking-down-the-county-by-county-battle-between-andy-kim-and-tammy-murphy/

"Every once in a while, there’s an election that makes the other 49 states suddenly pay a huge amount of attention to New Jersey politics. Next year’s explosive race for the United States Senate, with First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) running for the seat held by indicted Senator Bob Menendez, is definitely one such election.

And with the national spotlight comes a renewed focus on the county organizational line, the unique electoral system that dominates politics in 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties. Though the mechanics in each county are different, the basics are the same: the county party makes an official endorsement for every office, and then groups its preferred candidates in the same column or row and under the same slogan on primary election ballots...."


"Essex County (Newark, plus Montclair and other large suburbs)
Registered Democrats: 296,879 (11.2% of statewide total)
Endorsement process: Decided almost exclusively by county party leaders, mainly county Democratic Chair LeRoy Jones and County Executive Joe DiVincenzo

... Since Jones and DiVincenzo have both publicly said they’re supporting Murphy, this year’s race is settled. Kim’s campaign could still have a strong off-the-line presence in Essex County’s deeply progressive, high-information suburbs like Montclair or South Orange, but party support is off the table."