Little chaos in a low-key election.
EDISON -- Middlesex County may have rocked the vote Tuesday, but residents did not rock the boat.
Across the state's second-largest county, many voters stuck with incumbents. There were few surprises by the time the unofficial results were in.
In Edison, Democrats did what they've done for the past 20 years: They swept to victory, easily turning back a slate led by an incumbent Republican councilman who had switched parties and created a small amount of agita among the ruling party's faithful. Robert Karabinchak and Michael Lombardi earned new terms; Ajay Patil and Leonard Sendelsky will serve their first. Come Jan. 1, the town's mayor, Thomas Lankey, will have a council more compliant with his agenda.
In Old Bridge, the Republicans beat back a Democratic challenge to maintain power in the sprawling southern Middlesex County township. Owen Henry beat retired cop Bill Cerra, 5,400 to 4,005, a 15-point spread. Brian Cahill and Debbie Walker won new terms, and Anita Greenberg-Belli, a former GOP chairwoman, will serve her first term. They beat Democrats Jack Gillick, Debbie Marquez and Thomas Galante.
MORE: Results in every local Middlesex County race
In Sayreville, three-term incumbent Republican Mayor Kennedy O'Brien appears to have narrowly defeated challenger David McGill, the current council president and a Democrat. The vote, according to the unofficial tally, was 3,290 to 3,022.
Voters split on the council, appearing to elect Pat Lembo, a Republican, with 3,093 votes, and Steven Grillo, a Democrat, with 3,047 votes. Two seats were up for grabs. Democrat Ricci Melendez had 3,006 votes, and Republican Christian Hibinski had 2,993.
In Middlesex Borough, the council race appeared to be too close to call Tuesday night, with only three votes separating the second-place finishers.
Robert Schueler, a Democrat, won with 1,211 votes. Democrat Patrick Corley had 1,160 votes, and Republican Nancy Purcell-Holmes had 1,157 on election night for the second of two seats. Melissa Fedosh came in fourth with 1,096.
For mayor, Democrat Ronald J. DiMura defeated Republican Robert Sherr, 1,256 to 1,088, in unofficial results.
In South River, the incumbent Republican mayor held on. Mayor John Krenzel had 1,161 votes to 1,115 for Democrat Thomas C. Roselli. For the council, Democrats Shawn P. Haussermann and Ryan M. Jones were the top two finishers for two seats, edging Rupesh Patel and John Sapata on election night.
In Monroe Township, after the retirement of longtime mayor Richard Pucci, a fellow Democrat will take his place. Gerald Tamburro beat Republican Martin Hermann and independent Ken Chiarella, according to results Tuesday night.
Helmetta is one of the smallest towns in the state, and the smallest in Middlesex County, but it saw a change in power. Longtime mayor Nancy Martin was ousted by Christopher Slavicek in the non-partisan election, according to unofficial results. The margin was nearly two to one.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.