NBC News has declared Lower Township businessman Joseph Salerno the victor in his race for the Democratic nomination for the House seat in the 2nd Congressional District. Showing 99% of the vote in, NBC News has a 449-vote margin of victory for Salerno. The total vote so far is listed on the NBC website as 14,049 (38.2%) for Salerno and 13,602 (37%) for civil rights attorney Tim Alexander.

The results of the election have still not been certified on county clerk websites in five of the six counties that in whole or part comprise District 2. With so much of the vote in, it is unlikely that Alexander can overcome a deficit that has widened since the initial election day results were reported.

It is looking like the race for the House will feature two candidates who call Cape May County home. Certainly Salerno owes his victory to home county voters. Salerno’s lead was built by getting 51% of the Democratic primary vote in Cape May County, where he beat Alexander by 1,482 votes, according to the county’s certified results.

Sea Isle City’s Carolyn Rush is listed by NBC at 7,824 votes (21%) and Rodney Dean at 1,235 votes.

Salerno did not have the endorsement of any of the six county Democratic organizations. He may have benefited from the lack of a party line ballot for the Democratic primary. The county line format was banned for the Democratic primary as a result of litigation instituted by Rep. Andy Kim, who at the time was trying to minimize the benefits of local party organization endorsements for Tammy Murphy, Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife.

During his campaign Salerno said he wants to focus on creating jobs and facilitating economic investment in South Jersey. He promises to defend civil liberties, including protecting a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.