A political newcomer in the Jim Thorpe Area School District virtually assured himself a place on the district's board of education in Tuesday's Primary election.

Ronald Marciante won nominations on both the Democratic and Republican ballots for both a four-year term and a two-year term on the board.In the Democratic balloting for four nominations for four-year terms, Marciante was second among five candidates, finishing with 474 votes. Incumbent Gerald Strubinger was the high man on both ballots, finishing with 542 Democratic votes and 420 GOP votes.In the Democratic balloting, Strubinger and Marciante were followed by incumbents Dennis J. McGinley Jr. and John P. Ciavarella Jr., who tallied 460 and 434 votes, respectively. Glenn F. Confer Sr., the fifth candidate on the ballot, failed to win a nomination on the Democratic side with 411 votes.In the GOP balloting, Strubinger tallied 420 votes, two ahead of Marciante's 418. McGinley and Confer won nominations with 334 and 318 votes, respectively. Ciavarella did not seek the Republican nomination in that race.Meanwhile, in balloting for two nominations for two-year terms on the board, there was a race among three Democrats, where Marciante was high with 329 and Ciavarella followed with 312. Matthew C. Schutter tallied 96 votes in finishing third.Marciante and Schutter were the only two candidates on the Democratic ballot for the two two-year nominations. They received 354 and 132 complimentary votes, respectively.Schutter has moved out of the district. His name appeared on the ballot because he relocated after the deadline to remove names from the ballot had passed.Voters in all of Jim Thorpe Borough and Penn Forest Township participated in the school district balloting, as did those who live in Kidder Township's South District.