Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli have won their parties’ primaries for governor in New Jersey, NBC News projects, setting up one of the most closely watched races of the year.
New Jersey is one of two states with a governor’s race this year, and the contest will be one early sign of how voters are responding to President Donald Trump’s second term.
Sherrill beat out five other Democrats for her party’s nod, pitching herself as the most electable candidate — after her party struggled in the state last year compared to other recent presidential elections — and as a Democrat willing to stand up to Trump.
“If you want somebody that comes from a different sort of background, as a Navy helicopter pilot and a federal prosecutor and a congresswoman and a mom of four, to really take on entrenched interests, and both fight back against Donald Trump and fight for New Jersey and really seriously address the problems we have in Trenton then, you know, I’m your candidate,” Sherrill recently told NBC News when asked about her closing message to primary voters.
Ciattarelli, who had Trump’s endorsement in the primary, defeated four other Republicans for the nomination, casting himself as the Trump ally best positioned to win the Democratic-leaning state in November. Ciattarelli came close in 2021 to defeating Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
Ciattarelli said during a debate last month that Trump endorsed him “because he knows I’m the only person that can unify our party. He endorsed me because of the energy I bring to the campaign. He endorsed me because of the money we’re able to raise to deliver a win. He endorsed me because of the coattails. He endorsed me because I’m the only person who can beat the Democrats in November and the goal is to win.”
Sherrill prevails
The Democratic primary featured Sherrill and five other prominent Democrats, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, teachers union president Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.
While Sherrill, the only woman in the field, was a persistent leader in limited public polling, victory was far from certain as millions of dollars flooded the New Jersey airwaves.
Early returns showed Sherrill winning more than a third of the vote, with a double-digit lead over Fulop, the next closest Democrat.
Sherrill showed early signs of strength in the crucial Essex County, which is home to the highest number of registered Democrats. Sherrill was endorsed by the Essex County Democrats, but the county also includes Newark, which Baraka leads. Sherrill won around 43% of the mail-in vote, followed by Baraka at 24%, Fulop at 17%, Gottheimer at 10%, Spiller at 5%, and Sweeney at 1%.
Sherrill proved to be a strong fundraiser, and she did have help from an aligned outside group, One Giant Leap PAC, which launched ads boosting Sherrill in the final weeks of the race. Sherrill also racked up support from the most county Democratic parties, prompting some critics to tie her to the state’s Democratic political machine.
Sherrill touted her military service and her success flipping a longtime Republican House district in 2018 as she made her case to primary voters. While each of the candidates presented a different path forward for the party, Sherrill said the “obvious” path forward is to “effectively govern.”
“Ruthless competence is what people in New Jersey want to see in government,” Sherrill told NBC News before she marched in the Asbury Park Pride parade. “And that’s what I’ve always provided, and that’s what I think stands in stark contrast to the most incompetent federal government we’ve probably ever seen in this nation.”
GOP picks Ciattarelli
Ciattarelli’s victory comes as he leaned on his endorsement from Trump in the final weeks of the race, where he faced former radio host Bill Spadea, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and contractor Justin Barbera.
Early returns showed Ciattarelli trouncing his opponents, winning nearly 66% with 30% of the expected vote in. Spadea was in a distant second at 23%, followed by Bramnick at 7%, Kranjac at 3% and Barbera at 2%.
Trump hosted a tele-rally as early voting kicked off this month, telling supporters that Ciattarelli is “going to help us with a win this November and send a powerful message to the entire country that New Jersey is turning red.”
But Ciattarelli did have to overcome attacks from Spadea, his chief competitor in the primary, who highlighted Ciattarelli’s past criticisms of the president as proof he was not sufficiently pro-Trump.
Trump ultimately backed Ciattarelli about a month before the primary, writing on Truth Social that Ciattarelli is now “100%” MAGA and is best positioned to win in November.
General election preview
Both Ciattarelli and Sherrill have already previewed the general election fight to come, sparring on social media over Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill and the president’s recent decision to federalize California National Guard troops despite Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections.
Sherrill has tied Ciattarelli directly to Trump, who lost the state by 6 points in November after losing it by 16 in 2020.
Sherrill’s recent TV ad warns, “MAGA’s coming for New Jersey with Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli,” and she said during a primary debate last month that Ciattarelli is “not going to stand up to Trump on anything.”
It remains to be seen if Ciattarelli will put some distance between him and the president in the Democratic-leaning state, but Ciattarelli has said he would campaign with Trump this year.
Ciattarelli has also previewed how he might push back against Democrats who try to tie him to Trump, often noting that the next governor must address four crises facing the state on affordability, public safety, education and overdevelopment.
“Last time I checked, this was a race for governor,” Ciattarelli said at a recent campaign stop. “And so what is it that President Trump has to do with those windmills of our Jersey Shore? What does he have to do with the fact that we have the highest property tax in the nation? What does he have to do with the failure of our public school system which just slipped from two to 12 on the national report card? What does he have to do with the overdevelopment of our suburbs?”
“They broke it, they own it,” Ciattarelli said of Democrats in charge of the state government. “And we’re not going to let anybody forget it over the next five months.”
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