Carlos Santos is a Republican Party organizer and county political leader who engineered a decisive upset to become Chairman of the Union County Republican Committee in June 2024, ending Glenn Mortimer's decade-long tenure. He has focused on revitalizing the county party through grassroots organizing, technology-driven outreach, and expansion into traditionally Democratic municipalities.
Santos entered the county chair race pledging to unify the party and provide equitable representation across all 21 municipalities in Union County. He criticized the prior leadership for conceding ground to Democrats and failing to support candidates with adequate training and resources. His campaign emphasized empowering local committees rather than imposing top-down control.
He defeated incumbent Chairman Glenn Mortimer on June 17, 2024, by a vote of 242 to 145—approximately 62.5% to 37.5%. The victory was attributed to an aggressive recruitment effort that filled vacant committee seats in heavily Democratic areas of the county, particularly Elizabeth, Linden, and Union. His coalition included a significant number of first-time Republican committee members motivated by his organizing campaign.
As chairman, Santos has prioritized transparency and procedural neutrality. He declined to endorse any candidate in the 2025 Republican gubernatorial primary until after the county convention screening process, a position that broke with historical practice and denied State Senator Jon Bramnick, whose political base is in Union County, an early organizational advantage. The decision created friction with Bramnick's allies but aligned with Santos's campaign promise to let committee members vote on endorsements.
Santos has leveraged VoterMaker, a voter outreach application, to modernize the county party's electoral operations. He has also emphasized diversity and inclusion as organizational principles, seeking to expand Republican participation beyond the county's traditional western strongholds into more diverse eastern communities.
His tenure has not been without conflict. In July 2025, Santos was escorted out of a Union County Board of County Commissioners meeting by police following a tense exchange regarding FEMA funding. The incident underscored the adversarial relationship between the county Republican organization and the Democratic-controlled county government.
Under Santos's leadership, Union County Republicans have maintained approximately 65,817 registered voters, ranking 10th among New Jersey's 21 counties and comprising 4% of the statewide Republican electorate. The county remains a Democratic stronghold at the federal and state levels, though western municipalities including Westfield, Cranford, and Mountainside provide Republican electoral bases.
Political Career
• Chairman, Union County Republican Committee (2024–present); elected June 17, 2024; term runs through 2026 reorganization
• Republican municipal committee member (prior to 2024; exact tenure not publicly specified)
Key Policy Areas
• Republican Party organization and grassroots mobilization
• Municipal-level candidate recruitment and training
• Electoral technology and data-driven voter outreach
• County government fiscal oversight and transparency
• FEMA and emergency management funding administration
Notable Actions / Initiatives
• Defeated 10-year incumbent Glenn Mortimer for Union County Republican chairmanship (June 2024)
• Recruited new Republican committee members in heavily Democratic municipalities (Elizabeth, Linden, Union)
• Established county convention screening process for candidate endorsements
• Declared neutrality in 2025 gubernatorial primary until post-convention vote
• Joined three other county chairs to endorse Assemblywomen Nancy Muñoz and Michele Matsikoudis for 21st District legislative seats (December 2024)
• Escorted from Union County Commissioners meeting by police during FEMA funding dispute (July 2025)
Education
• Not publicly available
Personal
• Birth date: Not publicly available
• Residence: Union County, New Jersey (specific municipality not specified)
• Family: Married; father of four daughters
