Latest news with #NewJerseyElection
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
New Jersey voters choose governor nominees as Trump looms over campaign
PRINCETON, New Jersey, June 10 (Reuters) - New Jersey voters head to the polls on Tuesday to select Democratic and Republican nominees for governor, following a campaign that has been dominated by a part-time state resident who isn't even on the ballot: President Donald Trump. New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states that hold gubernatorial contests the year after a presidential election, and the races offer an early check on how voters feel about the new administration - as well as an opportunity for the parties to test out their messaging ahead of next year's congressional elections. Trump's whirlwind first four months have made him the central character in both the Republican and Democratic campaigns in New Jersey. Virginia has no primary elections this year after Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic former U.S. Representative Abby Spanberger ran unopposed for their party's nominations. There are six major Democratic candidates vying to succeed term-limited Democratic Governor Phil Murphy: U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, former state Senate President Steve Sweeney and Sean Spiller, the president of the state's largest teachers' union. While Sherrill has held a steady lead in the few public polls of the race, the margins have been narrow enough that the outcome is far from certain. "Every candidate has a plausible path forward," Dan Cassino, director of the New Jersey-based Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, said. "The polling is all over the map." On the Republican side, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli – who narrowly lost the governor's race to Murphy in 2021 – appears poised to win the party's nomination after Trump, a Republican, endorsed him. While New Jersey is a Democratic-leaning state, it moved further toward Trump from 2020 to 2024 than any state except New York. The state has swung back and forth from Republican to Democratic governors for decades – a Democratic victory in November would be the first time either party won three consecutive gubernatorial races in more than 60 years. The race is already the most expensive in state history, with more than $85 million spent as of June 4, according to the political advertising analysis firm AdImpact. Most of that spending has been driven by the intensely competitive Democratic primary. All of the Democrats have vowed to protect New Jersey from Trump, seeking to harness the growing anger among Democratic voters over the president's policy agenda. But they have also focused on affordability, always a critical issue in a state with the highest property taxes in the country. "MAGA is coming for New Jersey," one Sherrill television ad warns, explicitly tying Ciattarelli to Trump. Another memorable ad from Gottheimer showed him trading jabs with Trump in a boxing ring. Baraka made national headlines when he was arrested by the Justice Department in May for allegedly trespassing at a privately run immigration detention center, though the charge was later dropped. The mayor sued the Trump administration last week, claiming the arrest was politically motivated. "Trump looms large over the primaries and will do so over the general," said Ashley Koning, who oversees the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Sherrill, 53, has leaned into her biography as a former Navy helicopter pilot, former federal prosecutor and a mother of four. As the front-runner, she has drawn fire from some of her Democratic rivals, including criticism for taking tens of thousands of dollars for her congressional campaigns from a political action committee tied to Elon Musk's SpaceX. Sherrill's campaign donated money equal to the funds she received from the SpaceX PAC to a food bank in March, according to campaign finance reports. She has won the endorsement of about half the state's Democratic county parties, which in the past might have guaranteed her victory. But Tuesday's elections are the first gubernatorial contests to take place under a new ballot design that has created vastly more competitive primaries. For decades, New Jersey's ballot included a so-called "county line," which put the candidates who had earned the backing of county party leaders in a leading column on the ballot. Other candidates' names appeared off to the side, in practice all but guaranteeing that party bosses could choose the eventual nominees for state offices. A federal judge last year ruled that the old ballot was unconstitutional after Democratic Senator Andy Kim, who was running for a Senate seat, sued over the practice.
CNN
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
What to watch in Tuesday's primaries for New Jersey governor
New Jersey voters will select their nominees for governor on Tuesday, testing the direction of the Democratic and Republican parties in a state that shifted towards President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The Republican primary has coalesced around Jack Ciattarelli, who led the race even before he secured Trump's endorsement last month. The Democratic side has a crowded slate of moderate and progressive candidates, though some political observers see Rep. Mikie Sherrill as a leader of the field. Trump, a part-time summer resident of the Garden State, has played a central role in both party primaries. Several Republican candidates openly lobbied for his support while Democrats portrayed themselves as fighters against him. Both eventual nominees will have to contend with the Trump factor in the general election. Though he lost New Jersey by six points to former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, Trump made significant gains in the state, reducing his margin of defeat by 10 points compared to 2020. The candidates are running to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose party is facing historical crosscurrents. Democrats have not won the governor's seat three terms in a row in more than 60 years. Working in the party's favor: In every race for New Jersey governor since 1989 – except for 2021 – the party that loses the presidential election the year before rebounds to win in the Garden State. New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, holding elections for governor this year. Virginia does not have a competitive primary for governor, with a matchup already set between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. Here's what to watch on Tuesday night: Who New Jersey Democrats choose will be telling. Each of the six candidates is emphasizing different approaches on issues like housing, cost of living and immigration. Some political observers view Sherrill, who has earned the most county party endorsements, as the slight favorite heading into Tuesday. A former Navy helicopter pilot, Sherrill flipped a long-held GOP district in northern New Jersey in 2018, helping Democrats win back the House in Trump's first term. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has clashed with the Trump administration over immigration, including his high-profile arrest by ICE agents outside a federal detention center last month. Leader of the state's largest city, Baraka is running as an unapologetic progressive, saying at a rally on Sunday that 'we cannot do the conventional thing because these are not conventional times.' Other candidates include Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a progressive who has billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate; Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a moderate who made addressing high costs the centerpiece of his campaign; Steve Spiller, former mayor of Montclair and president of the New Jersey Education Association; and Steve Sweeney, a moderate former state senator and ironworker who is the only candidate hailing from the southern part of the state. The alliance between Trump and Ciattarelli, one of five Republicans running for governor, was not always expected. Ciattarelli once described Trump as a 'charlatan' and kept the president at arm's length during his last run for governor in 2021, when he lost to Murphy by only three points. But he openly sought Trump's endorsement this time as Trump tightened his hold on the GOP. New Jersey saw the second-largest shift towards Trump in November's presidential contest. Ciattarelli hopes to tap into Trump's support network heading into November's election, but questions remain about how well GOP candidates can do without Trump on the ballot. Conservative radio talk show host Bill Spadea also pushed for Trump's support, while state senator Sen. Jon Bramnick kept Trump at a distance. Justin Barbera, a business owner in Burlington County, and former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac are also on the GOP ballot. This is the first New Jersey governor's race since the end of the so-called 'county line' ballot, a ballot structure that favored party-backed candidates. The design allowed county party leaders to give preferential placement on ballots to their endorsed primary candidates. The names of party-backed candidates would appear in a single, prominent column. Those who were not part of the line had their names scattered across the ballot in what was commonly referred to as 'Ballot Siberia.' A federal judge struck down the practice last year following a challenge by then-Rep. Andy Kim as he was running for Senate. Kim, who won his race, argued the practice was 'averse to the pursuit of democracy.' The end of the county line has led to one of the more competitive Democratic primaries in the state in years. Sherrill has earned the most county party endorsements and could still benefit from their organizing power. The race has shattered spending records already. The primaries have seen $85 million in ad spending, making the contest the most expensive governor's race in New Jersey history, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. Most of that spending - $75 million – has come on the Democratic side from candidates and outside groups. At $8.8 million, Fulop led the candidates in ad spending since the start of the year. A host of well-funded outside groups are pushing the totals even higher, including the pro-Gottheimer group 'Affordable New Jersey' ($14.8 million), the pro-Fulop group 'Coalition for Progress' ($8.1 million), and the pro-Sherrill group 'One Giant Leap PAC' ($5.9 million). Meanwhile, Spiller has outsourced nearly his entire campaign operation to an outside group, 'Working New Jersey,' aligned with his union, which has spent more than $12 million on advertisements supporting his campaign, and which has reported spending nearly $40 million total backing his bid. CNN's David Wright contributed to this report.
CNN
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
What to watch in Tuesday's primaries for New Jersey governor
New Jersey voters will select their nominees for governor on Tuesday, testing the direction of the Democratic and Republican parties in a state that shifted towards President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The Republican primary has coalesced around Jack Ciattarelli, who led the race even before he secured Trump's endorsement last month. The Democratic side has a crowded slate of moderate and progressive candidates, though some political observers see Rep. Mikie Sherrill as a leader of the field. Trump, a part-time summer resident of the Garden State, has played a central role in both party primaries. Several Republican candidates openly lobbied for his support while Democrats portrayed themselves as fighters against him. Both eventual nominees will have to contend with the Trump factor in the general election. Though he lost New Jersey by six points to former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, Trump made significant gains in the state, reducing his margin of defeat by 10 points compared to 2020. The candidates are running to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose party is facing historical crosscurrents. Democrats have not won the governor's seat three terms in a row in more than 60 years. Working in the party's favor: In every race for New Jersey governor since 1989 – except for 2021 – the party that loses the presidential election the year before rebounds to win in the Garden State. New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, holding elections for governor this year. Virginia does not have a competitive primary for governor, with a matchup already set between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. Here's what to watch on Tuesday night: Who New Jersey Democrats choose will be telling. Each of the six candidates is emphasizing different approaches on issues like housing, cost of living and immigration. Some political observers view Sherrill, who has earned the most county party endorsements, as the slight favorite heading into Tuesday. A former Navy helicopter pilot, Sherrill flipped a long-held GOP district in northern New Jersey in 2018, helping Democrats win back the House in Trump's first term. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has clashed with the Trump administration over immigration, including his high-profile arrest by ICE agents outside a federal detention center last month. Leader of the state's largest city, Baraka is running as an unapologetic progressive, saying at a rally on Sunday that 'we cannot do the conventional thing because these are not conventional times.' Other candidates include Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a progressive who has billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate; Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a moderate who made addressing high costs the centerpiece of his campaign; Steve Spiller, former mayor of Montclair and president of the New Jersey Education Association; and Steve Sweeney, a moderate former state senator and ironworker who is the only candidate hailing from the southern part of the state. The alliance between Trump and Ciattarelli, one of five Republicans running for governor, was not always expected. Ciattarelli once described Trump as a 'charlatan' and kept the president at arm's length during his last run for governor in 2021, when he lost to Murphy by only three points. But he openly sought Trump's endorsement this time as Trump tightened his hold on the GOP. New Jersey saw the second-largest shift towards Trump in November's presidential contest. Ciattarelli hopes to tap into Trump's support network heading into November's election, but questions remain about how well GOP candidates can do without Trump on the ballot. Conservative radio talk show host Bill Spadea also pushed for Trump's support, while state senator Sen. Jon Bramnick kept Trump at a distance. Justin Barbera, a business owner in Burlington County, and former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac are also on the GOP ballot. This is the first New Jersey governor's race since the end of the so-called 'county line' ballot, a ballot structure that favored party-backed candidates. The design allowed county party leaders to give preferential placement on ballots to their endorsed primary candidates. The names of party-backed candidates would appear in a single, prominent column. Those who were not part of the line had their names scattered across the ballot in what was commonly referred to as 'Ballot Siberia.' A federal judge struck down the practice last year following a challenge by then-Rep. Andy Kim as he was running for Senate. Kim, who won his race, argued the practice was 'averse to the pursuit of democracy.' The end of the county line has led to one of the more competitive Democratic primaries in the state in years. Sherrill has earned the most county party endorsements and could still benefit from their organizing power. The race has shattered spending records already. The primaries have seen $85 million in ad spending, making the contest the most expensive governor's race in New Jersey history, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. Most of that spending - $75 million – has come on the Democratic side from candidates and outside groups. At $8.8 million, Fulop led the candidates in ad spending since the start of the year. A host of well-funded outside groups are pushing the totals even higher, including the pro-Gottheimer group 'Affordable New Jersey' ($14.8 million), the pro-Fulop group 'Coalition for Progress' ($8.1 million), and the pro-Sherrill group 'One Giant Leap PAC' ($5.9 million). Meanwhile, Spiller has outsourced nearly his entire campaign operation to an outside group, 'Working New Jersey,' aligned with his union, which has spent more than $12 million on advertisements supporting his campaign, and which has reported spending nearly $40 million total backing his bid. CNN's David Wright contributed to this report.
E&E News
a day ago
- Politics
- E&E News
How clean energy could shape New Jersey's gubernatorial primaries
Spiking electricity prices, President Donald Trump's vendetta against offshore wind and the Democratic Party's identity crisis have all set the stage for a messy New Jersey gubernatorial election. Tuesday's primary will winnow down a fragmented Democratic field of six candidates, with polls finding a large share of voters remain undecided. Trump's endorsement, meanwhile, has helped elevate a front-runner among the five Republican candidates. They're all competing to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose big bet on offshore wind was snarled by cost overruns and cancellations before Trump's anti-wind policies finally killed it. Advertisement That failure has shaped an election whose defining issues are high costs and responding to Trump, even as offshore wind itself has become a moot point on the campaign trail. Both parties are preparing for energy politics to affect the general election, and the primaries are offering a preview.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
New Jersey's primaries for governor focus on a part-time resident: Donald Trump
The high-profile battles to become the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor of New Jersey are centered on a single summer Garden State resident: President Donald Trump. While Democrats have debated their approaches to housing, affordability and immigration, they all agree that part of the role of the state's next governor is to serve as a check on Trump. On the Republican side, Trump has endorsed a one-time critic who came close to winning the governor's race four years ago. New Jersey is one of two states featuring a governor's race this year, offering a gauge of voter sentiment about both Trump and the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterms. While Virginia voters will also select a governor this year, New Jersey is the only election featuring contested primaries that have already turned the gubernatorial race into the most expensive in state history. Ad spending has reached $80 million, according to tracking firm AdImpact. For Democrats, Tuesday's primary presents a key test of the party's direction in its first months out of power against Trump. The six-candidate field covers the moderate and progressive lanes, and Tuesday's winner could face a tough test in November. Trump lost New Jersey last year by only 6 points to former Vice President Kamala Harris, four years after former President Joe Biden won the state by 16 points. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term limited, won reelection in 2021 by just 3 points against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who is running again this year. 'Whatever we do in New Jersey is going to send ripples in my mind, around the country, in terms of what people believe, what Americans want and a direction that we should be going in in terms of fights,' Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, one of the six Democratic candidates, said in an interview. 'Do we lay down or do we go moderate? Do we acquiesce to Donald Trump? Do we chase Republican voters, or do we go hard in the other direction?' Some political observers in the state view Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who has won the most county party endorsements, as having a slight edge. Other candidates include Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who has billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate; moderate Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who has zeroed in on economic issues; Sean Spiller, the leader of a major teacher's union; and former state Senate president and ironworker Steve Sweeney, a moderate hailing from the southern part of the state. The message of fighting Trump has been central to the Democrats' advertising. Sherrill has promoted her experience as a former Navy helicopter pilot to argue she'll 'stand up to Trump and Musk with all I've got.' Fulop vows to 'fight Donald Trump's Medicaid cuts.' 'It's really important to have leadership in the state at the executive level, to really push back on the vision that's coming from Washington,' Sherrill, who flipped a GOP district in 2018 to help Democrats win control of the House in Trump's first term, said in an interview. Gottheimer released one of the most provocative ads of the campaign, using AI-generated imagery to depict him duking it out, shirtless, with Trump in a boxing ring. 'They want to know that someone's not afraid to fight and stand up for us,' Gottheimer said in an interview on CNN, arguing economic anxiety is part of what drove the rightward shift in the state last year. 'People see what's going on with Trump and the chaos and they want actually an alternative.' Baraka had the most direct clash with Trump of anyone in the field. The progressive mayor of New Jersey's largest city, Baraka was arrested last month on a trespassing charge at Delaney Hall, a federal immigration detention center in Newark that he attempted to visit with members of Congress. Video of his detention drew national attention. Though the charge against him was dropped, Baraka then sued Alina Habba, the interim US attorney for New Jersey, seeking damages for 'false arrest and malicious prosecution' and accusing her of defamation in the case. 'The problems that we've had in Newark, and our ability to mitigate them, makes us uniquely qualified to be able to do this at this moment and stand up for democracy and against Trump at the same time,' Baraka told CNN. Dan Bryan, a New Jersey Democratic strategist who worked to elect Murphy as governor in 2017 during Trump's first term in office, said the wrangling in the packed Democratic field will benefit the eventual nominee. 'I'm not sure there's ever been an election cycle in American history where you have had six campaigns spending in most cases eight figures plus and running hard races,' Bryan said. 'Whoever comes out of this field will come out of the field having been far more tested and far more battle ready than on the Republican side.' Trump, who spends many summer weekends at his property in Bedminster, N.J., backed Ciattarelli last month. He held a tele-rally with Ciattarelli on Monday and tried to raise the stakes of the governor's race. 'It's being watched, actually, all over the world, because New Jersey is ready to pop out of that blue horror show and really get in there and vote for somebody that's going to make things happen,' Trump said. The Trump-Ciattarelli alliance was not always a likely one. In 2015, Ciattarelli described the then-presidential candidate as a 'charlatan.' 'Sitting silently and allowing him to embarrass our country is unacceptable,' Ciattarelli said at the time. 'He is not fit to be president of the United States.' But Ciattarelli openly sought Trump's endorsement this year, hoping the president would not only consolidate primary support for his candidacy but also turn out voters who shifted towards Trump in the 2024 general election. 'He's going to help us with a win this November and send a powerful message to the entire country that New Jersey is turning red,' Ciattarelli said in the tele-rally. Ciattarelli is considered the Republican front-runner. Conservative talk show host Bill Spadea, who has hosted the president on his radio program, is also vying for the support of Trump's voters. 'Loyalty matters to President Trump,' Spadea said in the opening of his first campaign ad, playing an old clip of Trump calling into Spadea's radio show to say 'Bill, you've had my back from the beginning, and I really appreciate it.' State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a more moderate Republican, has kept Trump at a distance. He criticized the president's pardons of those convicted in the January 6, 2021 attack at the US capitol. While Ciattarelli and Spadea have signaled support for Medicaid changes included in Trump's massive policy bill, Bramnick expressed reservations. 'To be honest with you, I hope the Republicans in Washington stand up, support New Jersey, and do not make those cuts,' Bramnick said in a recent debate. Justin Barbera, a businessowner in Burlington County, and former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac are also on the GOP ballot. The Democratic candidates are already eyeing the Trump-backed Ciattarelli as their main opponent, hoping that endorsement will backfire with general election voters who might be turned off by Trump's actions in his first year in office. But Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Party Committee, argued the contested Democratic primary will hurt their eventual nominee in a state where independent voters will also be key. 'They're all falling over each other trying to get farther left and more extreme than the other guy. It's been good for Republicans,' he said. 'Trump being visible in New Jersey will help energize those hardcore Republican voters who only vote in presidential elections.'
