Vic Carstarphen, a former Camden High School star basketball player and councilman in the small South Jersey city who has been serving as interim mayor since March, won the Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday.
Carstarphen's landslide victory assures he will win a four-year term as mayor, starting next January, barring a write-in campaign in the November general election. No Republicans ran in the primary seeking their party's nomination for mayor.
The former councilman was handpicked by Camden County political bosses to replace former Mayor Frank Moran following Moran's resignation in March.
Carstarphen received nearly 64% of 3,900 votes case in the June 8 primary, according to results posted on the county website, beating out three other candidates.
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- Victor Carstarphen: 2,495 (63.97%)
- Elton Custis: 878 (22.51%)
- Luis Quinones: 324 (8.31%)
- Felisha Reyes-Morton 200 (5.13%)
Moran, 52, was elected mayor in 2017 and is leaving office with about 10 months to go in his first term. He has not yet given a specific date for his departure, but it is imminent, a source close to Moran said.
Carstarphen led Camden High to multiple state sectional championship finals and went on to play for some of Temple University's best men's basketball teams during former coach John Chaney's long tenure.
