Results are still preliminary, but newcomer Nick DiMeglio and incumbents Dennis Hopkins, Jr. and Laurie Merris are leading in the race for Board of Education seats.

The results are unofficial because mail-in, early, and provisional votes have not yet been fully counted.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial tallies by the Somerset County Clerk’s office on November 6 show DiMeglio with 14,121 votes, Hopkins with 12,722 votes, and Merris with 12,081 votes.

The fourth candidate vying for the three seats, incumbent Sami Shaban, garnered 10,773 votes in the County’s unofficial tally.

In the Somerset County Commissioner race, Democratic incumbents Shanel Robinson and Sara Sooy appear to be cruising to re-election over Republican challengers Nick Cuozzo and Rakesh “Rocky” Ganta.

Unofficial results, also updated on November 6, have Robinson, a former Franklin Township Councilwoman, leading all candidates with 80,572 votes, followed by Sooy with 79,668. Cuozzo received 73,316 votes and Ganta received 71,428.

According to the County Clerk’s election website, “These initial tallies do not represent the final election outcome. Results are added as they become available, and therefore the totals on this page will change until final certification to the Secretary of State on November 25.”

“Mail-in ballots that are damaged or filled out in ways that cannot be scanned by the Board of Elections have to be hand-tabulated, and ballots postmarked by 8 p.m. on November 5 and received by November 12 will also be processed,” according to the statement. “Only then can provisional ballots be counted.”

This story will be updated as more results are posted by the Somerset County Clerk.