By Donald Gilpin

In a close race Tuesday for three seats on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education, incumbent Mara Franceschi, who has received 5,326 votes (20.64 percent), Christopher Santarpio 4,618 (17.90 percent), and Ari Meisel with 4,443 (17.22 percent) have defeated Erica Snyder with 4,310 votes (16.71 percent), Lisa Potter with 4,148 (16.08 percent), and Shenwei Zhao with 2,921 (11.32 percent), according to unofficial results from the Mercer County Clerk’s Office.

With many mail-in ballots and provisional ballots remaining to be counted, certification by the Mercer County Clerk’s office is not expected for about two weeks.

In two other local elections, both uncontested, Mark Freda won another four-year term as Princeton Mayor, and incumbent Leighton Newlin and new candidate Brian McDonald won three-year terms on Princeton Council.

In competition for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Robert Menendez, the Associated Press (AP) called the race for Democrat Andy Kim soon after the polls closed at 8 p.m.  Kim was leading his Republican opponent Curtis Bashaw by a 55.5 to 42.7 percent margin.In the contest for U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 12th District, incumbent Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman coasted to victory over Republican Darius Mayfield. The AP called the race at about 9:30 p.m. with Watson Coleman leading with 59.9 percent of the votes counted and Mayfield at 37.9 percent.

In the election to three seats for three-year terms on the Mercer County Board of Commissioners, Democrats Samuel Frisby with 21.78 percent of the votes counted, Kristin L. Mclaughlin with 22.27 percent, and Terrance Stokes with 21.75 percent prevailed over their Republican opponents Andrew Curcio with 11.53 percent, Pedro Reyes with 11.36 percent, and Denise “Neicy” Turner with 11.31 percent of the votes, with 98.77 percent of the districts reporting.