Now Reading: New Jersey primaries decide candidates for governor
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New Jersey primaries decide candidates for governor
New Jersey primaries decide candidates for governor
Newark mayor Ras Baraka sues over arrest at ICE facility
Newark mayor Ras Baraka announced he’s suing two federal officials who he allege ordered his arrest at an ICE facility in New Jersey.
New Jersey Republicans and Democrats will decide today on their respective nominees for governor, in what is expected to be a contentious 2025 general election.
Early voting in the Garden State primaries began June 3, a week out from election day. New Jersey is one of two states hosting a high-stakes gubernatorial contest this year.
But unlike Virginia − the other off-year race state, where this year both the Republican and Democratic nominee for governor became official in April ahead of any primary − New Jersey’s candidate field is packed on both sides.
There are five Republicans on the ballot, though former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is widely seen as the favorite to win. He comes into Tuesday evening with President Donald Trump’s full-throated endorsement.
Among Democrats, Rep. Mikie Sherrill leads the pack of six by a slight polling margin. She faces competitors like Newark mayor Ras Baraka and fellow member of Congress Josh Gottheimer.
Voting in New Jersey primaries wraps up
Polls are now closed in New Jersey’s 2025 primaries.
Results are expected later this evening and will determine both parties’ nominees for governor.
Republicans may have their nominee sooner, with former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli polling well ahead of his GOP competitors.
— Savannah Kuchar
Polls about to close in New Jersey
Polls will close in New Jersey at 8 p.m. ET on June 10.
Once voting is over, New Jersey Republicans and Democrats alike will wait to learn who their official nominee for governor is in 2025.
Those nominees face off later this year on November 4.
– Savannah Kuchar
New Jersey hosts the first (and more competitive) of two gubernatorial primaries
New Jersey is one of two states with a gubernatorial race in 2025, along with Virginia.
Both states typically hold their state elections in off years, between presidential and mid-term elections. This year, they are widely viewed as the first real temperature check on voters’ moods and key issues since November 2024.
Following the June 10 primaries in New Jersey, Virginia will host theirs June 17.
While New Jersey has a crowded field of candidates vying for the governor’s mansion on both sides of the aisle, Virginia’s top of ticket race has been set since April. Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, will face Virginia’s Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears this fall.
– Savannah Kuchar
NJ Dems slam Trump’s response to anti-ICE protests
One area where Democrats vying to be New Jersey’s next governor seem to agree are opposing President Trump’s response to the anti-ICE demonstrations in California.
The president’s move to deploy Marines and the National Guard has sparked arguably the most significant showdown with a Democratic governor since his return to the White House.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, for example, filed an emergency motion seeking to limit the use of troops.
On the New Jersey campaign trail, Sherrill and Gottheimer condemned Trump and defended Newsom’s actions, according to Fox News.
Baraka, as has been mentioned, has already made headlines after being detained outside an ICE facility last month. He has filed suit against the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, claiming it was “false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation.”
New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, one of the longshot contenders, said in a June 9 post on X that if elected he wouldn’t “bend down” to Trump’s tactics.
“What’s happening in the streets of (Los Angeles) is not normal and we shouldn’t act like it is,” Spiller said.
“From ICE tearing apart families to the President sending out the National Guard — over the objection of the Governor — and now apparently contemplating deploying Marines on our people – we have to stand up in solidarity and defend our democracy.”
— Phillip M. Bailey
Trump has Bedminster property, typically votes in Florida
Trump has owned property in Bedminster, New Jersey, since 2002. However, the president is not expected to vote in the Garden State’s election.
In the 2024 presidential election, Trump cast a ballot for himself from Palm Beach, part of Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House to confirm Trump is still registered to vote in the Sunshine State.
A recent inspection at Trump’s ritzy golf club, located on 500-plus-acres in central New Jersey, found more than a dozen health code violations.
According to a May 6 report, raw meat was improperly refrigerated, some handwashing stations lacked soap and the person in charge failed to “demonstrate knowledge of food safety.”
— Savannah Kuchar and Zachary Schermele
Chris Christie mostly mum on ’25 NJ Gov race
One political figure you’d think would have a lot to say about picking the Garden State’s next leader is Republican Chris Christie, whose brash-style pre-dated the Trump era.
The verbose former governor, who led New Jersey from 2010-2018 and twice ran for president unsuccessfully, hasn’t endorsed anyone in this year’s contest. He also was quiet across his socials as voters flocked to the polls Tuesday.
Asked last week if he planned to support anyone, Christie told The Star-Ledger: “I haven’t decided yet.”
Christie mentioned having a “great working relationship” with Brammick, a Republican state legislator, but he mostly warned the GOP that independents — who will be critical in the fall for any Republican — may sour on Trump by the fall.
“If those independents have become disenchanted with what’s happening in Washington under Donald Trump, that will put a significant headwind onto Republicans,” he said.
— Phillip M. Bailey
Mikie Sherrill leads Democratic pack
Rep. Mikie Sherrill is the frontrunner coming into Tuesday evening.
In a May poll by Emerson College and The Hill, Sherrill was ahead with 28% of voters’ support.
She faces Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and fellow member of Congress Josh Gottheimer, all of whom were sitting at 11% support in last month’s poll.
New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller and former state Sen. President Steve Sweeney are also in the running.
— Savannah Kuchar
N.J. may set stage for new Democratic brand
This race is particularly important for national Democrats because it will be the first major competitive primary since their shattering defeat in the 2024 presidential race.
A poll conducted by Emerson College in May found among registered Democratic voters, Sherrill had a solid lead with 28%, but another 24% were undecided.
In the last weeks of the race she has faced attack ads for accepting donations linked from a corporate PAC tied to SpaceX, which is owned by Trump “frienemy” Elon Musk.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has pitched himself as the candidate most willing to take on Trump. He was thrust into the national spotlight in May after a confrontation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a federal facility
But if electability remains a worry then N.J. Democrats may bet on a safer choice such as U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who co-founded a bipartisan group dubbed the “Problem Solvers Caucus” that tries to sniff out consensus in Congress.
Others in the race, such as Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, are looking for an opening, too. He’s been running as a “pragmatic progressive” for voters fed up with the state’s political machine.
— Phillip M. Bailey
Current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is term-limited and cannot run again in this year’s race.
Murphy has served as top official in the state since 2018 and will conclude his second consecutive term next January.
His absence from the race leaves the contest wide open for either party to claim the governor’s mansion.
The president first announced his support for Ciattarelli in a Truth Social post on May 12.
“Jack Ciattarelli is a terrific America First Candidate running to be the next Governor of a State that I love, NEW JERSEY!” Trump wrote. “Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100%”
The two have not always been the best of buds publicly. In 2015, Ciattarelli called Trump a “charlatan.” Then in his second campaign for governor in 2021, he kept the then-former president at arm’s length.
Bygones appear to be bygones, though. Trump told voters in a telephone rally on June 2 Ciattarelli “is the most experienced and battle-tested” candidate.
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