Politics & Government

Senator Gordon Will Face Challenge From Alonso This November

Paramus' John Driscoll lost the GOP nomination for the senate race by a slim margin.

After a previous tie vote, Oradell's Fernando Alonso was selected as the Bergen County Republican choice to challenge Sen. Bob Gordon (D-38) in the November senate race. 

The Oradell lawyer defeated former county Freeholder John Driscoll of Paramus by a slim margin with the final results showing Alonso with 143 to Driscoll's 130, according to a report on northjersey.com.

The second vote, which was held on Thursday, came about after both men tied at 120 votes each on March 7. At that time, County Chairman Bob Yudin stated in an nj.com report that the tie may have been the first in the organization's history.

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Alonso is an immigration attorney and Senior Lecturer of Business and Director of the Puerta al Futuro Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University which enables Spanish speaking adults to learn English and earn a college degree through progressive all Spanish to all English coursework.

Alonso and Driscoll had previously earned the party line during the 2011 election for state Assembly and Senate respectively. Both men, along with running mate Richard Goldberg of Hawthorne, conceded the November race to Gordon, Assemblywoman Connie Wagner and now-Assemblyman Timothy Eustace.

Find out what's happening in Paramuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

District 38 includes Bergenfield, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Hawthorne, Lodi, Maywood, New Milford, Oradell, Paramus, River Edge, Rochelle Park, and Saddle Brook.


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