2 candidates are tracked for Bergen County Surrogate on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Linda H. Schwager and Joseph S. Conte. Candidate information follows official Bergen County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Open seat following the December 2025 death of longtime Democratic incumbent Michael Dressler, per New Jersey Globe. Republican Joseph S. Conte won the June 2, 2026 primary over Daniel Ng, 10,870 votes to 3,431, per New Jersey Globe; Democrat Linda H. Schwager was unopposed in her primary after being backed by the county party convention, per the same source.
New Jersey › Bergen County › Bergen County Surrogate
Democratic
Linda H. Schwager is a former three-term mayor of Oakland, New Jersey, and a former president of the Bergen County Bar Association, per the New Jersey Globe. She is listed as a court-approved mediator for family law economic matters, per the New Jersey Courts website. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Republican
Per the campaign site.
Conte is a retired New Jersey Superior Court judge who served 20 years on the bench in the Criminal and Civil divisions and sat as a municipal court judge in five Bergen County towns, per his campaign site. He was elected to the Franklin Lakes Borough Council in 2025 and teaches Criminal Law as an adjunct professor at Bergen Community College, per the same source.
Who is running for Bergen County Surrogate in 2026?
2 candidates are tracked for Bergen County Surrogate on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Linda H. Schwager and Joseph S. Conte. Candidate information follows official Bergen County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
When is the Bergen County Surrogate election in New Jersey?
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Registration deadlines, early voting dates and mail ballot rules for New Jersey are on the New Jersey election hub at theballotbrief.com.
How do I see my exact Bergen County ballot?
Enter your ZIP code in the lookup at theballotbrief.com for the statewide and congressional races, or a full street address to add the county, city and district contests for that location.
Candidate roster from official Bergen County and state election office filings, last verified September 27, 2026. Bios and priorities carry their attribution inline.
Cross-check with the official New Jersey election office, or see the full Bergen County sample ballot and your exact ballot by address.
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