(The Center Square) — Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli face off Tuesday in the nationally watched race for New Jersey’s next governor, viewed by many as the first major electoral test on President Donald Trump’s second term.
Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman, is running against Ciattarelli, a former GOP assemblyman, to replace outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who is prevented from seeking reelection because of term limits.
More than 1 million ballots have already been cast in the gubernatorial race during early voting, according to New Jersey election officials. The latest polls show a neck-and-neck race between the two candidates.
Sherrill, 53, is a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor who was first elected to Congress in 2018. She has sought to tie Ciattarelli’s platform to Trump’s agenda, warning that he would seek to replicate the president’s divisive policies in the state if elected. But she has also sought to distance herself from Murphy, a fellow Democrat, over his taxing and spending policies.
“I’ll serve you as governor to drive your costs down,” Sherrill said in a TV ad. “On Day One, I’m declaring a state of emergency on utility costs to lower your family’s bills. And when I’m governor, no sales tax increases, period. And I’ll fight for your family just as hard as I fight for mine.”
Ciattarelli, 63, is a former state assemblyman who is making his second gubernatorial run. He narrowly lost a challenge to then-incumbent Murphy in the 2021 elections but Republicans have made in-roads with voters since then. In 2024, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris carried the state by just 5.9 points, down from former President Joe Biden’s 16-point margin in the 2020 elections.
On the campaign trail, he has focused on affordability and argues the Democratic leadership in Trenton has driven up costs for many New Jersey families and businesses. He spent the past week on a bus tour of the state where he outlined his plans for improving public education and lowering energy costs and property taxes.
“We need someone who’s honest with a real plan, someone who gets it,” Ciattarelli said in a recent TV ad, touting his support from Trump. “As governor, I’ll fight every day for people who work hard and play by the rules because that’s what you deserve. Together, I know we can fix New Jersey. It’s time.”
The New Jersey gubernatorial race has drawn national attention as a potential preview for what’s to come in the 2026 midterms and an early gauge of President Trump’s favorability with voters.
While New Jersey is a blue state that tends to support Democrats in federal elections, it has a history of electing Republican governors as a check on the Democratic-controlled state Legislature. Republicans are hoping that the state’s suburban voters will help them return the post to GOP control for the first time since 2018, when then-Gov. Chris Christie stepped down.
