After a week of waiting, Democratic challenger Andrew Zwicker is poised to declare an upset of Republican incumbent Donna Simon for a state Assembly seat in central Jersey's 16th District — by a mere 78 votes
TRENTON -- After a week of waiting, Democratic challenger Andrew Zwicker is poised to declare an upset over Republican incumbent Donna Simon for a state Assembly seat in central Jersey's 16th District -- by a mere 78 votes.
That was the final tally Monday after election officials spent the last week counting provisional ballots in the razor-thin race, said Mark Matzen, an adviser to Zwicker.
But the battle might still not be over.
The difference is still close enough that Simon could seek a recount. The GOP has until next Wednesday to file one, but it was unclear as of Tuesday morning whether the party will do so.
Technically, Matzen said, Republicans would first ask for officials to "run all the machines again" to double-check the total. Then, they could to file for a "challenge" to recount every vote -- which they would have to pay for.
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"I don't expect there to be a challenge," Matzen said Tuesday.
Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union), the top Republican in the chamber, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
If the result holds, it would mean Democrats picked off four seats in this year's Assembly elections, tightening their control of the lower house of the state Legislature.
Zwicker's win would give Democrats 52 of the 80 seats in the chamber -- their largest majority since 1979. (The party also controls the state Senate, the upper house of the Legislature.)
Zwicker -- a South Brunswick resident and Princeton University physicist who ran an unsuccessful bid for a seat in Congress last year -- would become the first Democrat to hold a legislative seat in the district since its creation in 1974. The district includes parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties.
He had actually delivered his concession speech on election night after the Associated Press declared that Simon -- an Assemblywoman since 2012 -- and her running mate, Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciatarelli, had won re-election for the district's two seats.
But the AP announced just after midnight that the margin was too thin to make a final declaration. Zwicker led by 29 votes -- a margin that increased to 78 after provisional ballots were counted over the last week.
The final count shows Zwicker with 16,308 votes and Simon with 16,230.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.