Democrats embrace an establishment fighter: 3 takeaways from N.J. governor's race

USA Today

11-06-2025

Democrats embrace an establishment fighter: 3 takeaways from N.J. governor's race
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New Jersey governor signs bill making book bans illegal
Governor Phil Murphy signed the Freedom to Read Act which will prevent arbitrary book banning in the state.
New Jersey voters can expect to have one of the more competitive gubernatorial races later this year now that they have set the table for the fall.
Within an hour of polls closing on Tuesday, the primary contests were called for Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli in what will be one of two states, along with Virginia, hosting a high-stakes gubernatorial contest that could lay out the framework for the 2026 midterm elections.
Both sides were already swinging before all the votes had been counted, with Democratic groups calling out Ciattarelli's about-face embrace of President Donald Trump, who may take a personal interest in flipping the Garden State.
"Between now and November, we will make sure voters remember why they rejected (Ciatterelli's) last two statewide bids," Democratic Governor's Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said.
Republicans are beaming with confidence given the gains Trump's populist fueled Make American Great Again movement has seen in the state as of late.
"With New Jersey Republicans rallying around Jack Ciattarelli, we are well positioned to hold Democrats accountable for their poor record and work to deliver the real change that has been promised," Republican State Leadership Committee President Edith Jorge-Tuñón said in a statement.
Here are the key points from Tuesday's election.
It's Mikie: Congresswoman prevails in crowed Democratic field
For most of the race Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, held the lead over her five fellow Democratic competitors but with so many undecided voters some had thought Tuesday evening would go a bit longer.
"This was a truly grassroots campaign, and I'm so grateful to everyone who was a part of it, whether you volunteered, chipped in a few bucks, or voted for me," she said in a post on X as the polls closed. "We couldn't have gotten here without your support."
Sherrill, the only woman running for governor in the Garden State, was viewed largely as the establishment candidate with heavy support from county parties and other Democratic-aligned groups who still carry weight with years of get out the vote experience and resources.
She mostly stuck to her script, presenting herself to voters as a mom and military veteran. But she also focused attention on her record supporting women's reproductive rights and increasing affordable housing close to public transportation.
The 53-year-old congresswoman, who was a member of the centrist "Blue Dog" coalition in Congress until 2023, never saw her lead falter in the polls, despite attacks ads that slammed her for accepting donations from a corporate PAC tied to SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk.
MAGA convert wins as Trump eyes 'blue horror show'
A decade ago Republican Jack Ciattarelli was among the outspoken conservatives who felt Trump was unfit to be president, calling him a "charlatan." When he came within 3 percentage points of winning the governorship in 2021, he kept Trump at arm's length.
But that's behind both men now, and the president's late endorsement helped propel the former assemblyman across the finish line less than a half hour after polls closed with slightly more than two-thirds of primary voters supporting Ciattarelli as the GOP hopes to flip the state out of what the president described as a "blue horror show."
Although New Jersey has been a solidly blue state at the presidential level for roughly 40 years, it turned more red last year after Trump lost the state by roughly 5%. He previously was defeated by about 16% in 2020.
In terms of gubernatorial contests, the GOP has better luck in recent memory with Republican Chris Christie prevailing in the 2010 and 2014 elections.
Coupled with how well Ciattarelli did four years ago and the Republican trend overall, New Jersey voters should expect a hotly contested − and expensive − general election this fall.
What Sherrill's win tells us about Democrats ahead of 2026
Much of the Democratic gubernatorial primary in New Jersey served as laboratory for what type of candidate the party has an appetite for going forward in next year's midterms and beyond.
Each of the six candidates brought extensive and diverse resumes, while they mostly agreed on many issues such as tackling cost of living woes. They all tried to stand out in various ways by emphasizing either their electability in the fall or standing against Trump.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a charismatic speaker with a long history of civic service and grassroots organizing, caught fire in the last weeks of the race, for instance, after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a scuffle at a federal facility in Newark.
Stances on hot button topics, such as the ICE raids, didn't seem to move the needle for the more progressive or antiestablishment candidates, including Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, however.
Sherrill was criticized by more left-leaning elements in the party, such as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, for being too bland. The group claimed she was "nowhere to be seen" during the congressional debates over Trump's legislative agenda.
But Sherrill, who was carrying about one-third of the vote as of Tuesday evening, leaned into kitchen table issues around Social Security while also advertising herself as someone willing to "run toward the fight" who would "stand up to Trump and Musk."
The finally tally, however, could also underscore a remaining divide among on how the party should move forward given that unlike Ciattarelli, who carried more than two-thirds of the GOP vote, a majority of New Jersey Democrats wanted someone besides Sherrill to carry the party's banner into the fall.