New Jersey primary could set the stage for women in 2025's biggest governor's races
Rep. Mikie Sherrill is vying to be the Democrats' nominee for governor of New Jersey in the race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in Tuesday's primary. If she wins, women candidates will lead 2025's two biggest statewide elections.
Sherrill is running in a crowded field of Democratic primary candidates that includes Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, former state Senate President Steve Sweeney and Sean Spiller, the head of the New Jersey Education Association teachers union. Polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The contest will provide an indication of what direction the Democratic Party is headed after the bruising losses in November and a too-close-for-comfort win for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in New Jersey, a reliably blue state that saw a stark swing to the right in the 2024 election.
The front-runner in the Republican primary is Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and 2021 Republican gubernatorial nominee who has the backing of President Donald Trump.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, was elected to Congress in 2018 as part of a group of center-left Democrats, many of them women, coming from national security and military backgrounds elected to the U.S. House. She consistently led the Democratic primary field in fundraising and in polling, emphasizing her military and legal background in her messaging and pledging to take on Trump. She also won key endorsements and support from New Jersey's powerful political apparatus.
Another member of that group of Democrats elected in 2018, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, is running for governor of Virginia and has locked up her party's nomination. Spanberger is aiming to flip the state's governorship, currently held by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is limited to one term, and will face Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the general election. Two others — Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Andy Kim of New Jersey — were elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024.
New Jersey's rightward shift in 2024 raised alarm bells for Democrats in the state and nationwide. Trump lost New Jersey by just six points in 2024 after losing it by a margin of 16 in 2020. In the 2021 governor's race, Ciattarelli came within four points of defeating Murphy.
That means New Jersey's election for governor in November will be closely watched for whether Democrats can make up ground in the state and clinch a decisive victory.
The post New Jersey primary could set the stage for women in 2025's biggest governor's races appeared first on The 19th.
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