Republicans have picked the widow of Assembly GOP leader Alex DeCroce to fill the seat left vacant by his sudden death.
BettyLou DeCroce easily defeated attorney Larry Casha during a GOP county committee meeting in Mountain Lakes last night.
She must resign from the state Community Affairs Department. She'll serve in the seat on an interim basis.
Mrs. DeCroce must win the June 5 Republican primary nomination and prevail in the November general election to finish serving the two-year term through 2013.
The 26th District includes towns in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.
The Daily Record of Parsippany reports she told delegates she'll continue the “Republican policies” of Gov. Chris Christie.
Her 75-year-old husband collapsed and died at the Statehouse as the lame-duck legislative session drew to a close on Jan. 9.
Politics
Alex DeCroce had served in the NJ Assembly since 1989.
