TOMS RIVER, NJ – The Toms River Democrats are still in disarray after their mayoral candidate, John Furey, dropped out of the race earlier this month. Since then, they have searched high and low to find a challenger to Republican nominee Dan Rodrick.
In the weeks since Furey’s departure, Democrats have struggled to find a replacement.
Democrats proposed running council candidate Rhetta Jackson-Faire, but Faire’s anti-homophobic comments on social media could hurt her within her party. Last week, Democrats said Ben Giovine, a high-level staffer with ultra-progressive Congressman Andy Kim was identified as a possible candidate.
When asked about running on the same ticket as Jackson-Faire, knowing her open stance against homosexuality, Giovine declined to comment.
With just over two months before the election, Democrats are facing a time crunch to find a replacement for Furey and former council candidate Kajal Lal, who dropped out of the race to take a job with the federal government.
Rodrick is expected to easily win the November election against whichever candidate the Democrats, who support an urbanized downtown center and have shown they are ready to negotiate with the growing Orthodox bloc vote to rally dissent against the popular councilman.