10-02-2025
Donald Trump's shadow looms large over NJ's governor race. This is how
Donald Trump's shadow looms large over NJ's governor race. This is how | Opinion 4-minute read
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These are candidates running for NJ governor in 2025 election
Wondering who is running for New Jersey governor in 2025? Here are the names to know for the election.
The Democratic Party's takeaway is to talk about 'affordability' — egg prices, taxes and transit, so to speak — and deemphasize issues that have branded the party as obsessed with left-leaning 'woke'
In the GOP melee held last Tuesday night, three of the four Republican candidates expressed their solidarity and devotion to The Sequel, and vowing to carry out parts of Trump's hard-right agenda.
Two debates last week revealed how President Donald Trump's shadow has been cast over much of the New Jersey governor's race.
His surprising showing in New Jersey in November — when he lost by just five percentage points to former Vice President Kamala Harris in a blue state that he twice lost by double-digit margins — suddenly changed the calculus for 2025.
In the GOP melee held last Tuesday night, three of the four Republican candidates expressed their solidarity and devotion to The Sequel and vowed to carry out parts of Trump's hard-right agenda. And a third, the moderate state Sen. Jon Bramnick, even shifted from his 'Never Trumper' posture to a 'Sometime Trumper' who said he would support the president when it's appropriate.
But the Trump effect could also be felt more subtly at the more civil debate among the Democratic candidates two nights earlier. Both events were hosted by the New Jersey Globe and On New Jersey at Rider University.
The six Democratic candidates demonstrated how Trump's victory has complicated their path forward. Under normal circumstances, the Democrats should be resting on their formidable position, namely a 900,000-voter advantage over the Republicans. But Trump had success in capturing the blue stronghold of Passaic County and making eye-popping in-roads among Latino communities around the state, including the Democratic Party heartland of Hudson County.
The Democratic Party's takeaway is to talk about 'affordability' — egg prices, taxes and transit, so to speak — and de-emphasize issues that have branded the party as obsessed with left-leaning 'woke' cultural and social justice issues.
What did the Democratic candidates for NJ governor say?
That's not to say the Democrats abandoned those issues during the 90-minute event. Every candidate, for example, supported allowing trans children to participate in sports that align with their gender identity.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who is running an insurgency campaign, hoping to harness the grassroots fury that propelled Andy Kim to the U.S. Senate, boasted of his work in fostering the trans community in his city. And U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill of Montclair, widely viewed as the early front-runner, who spent most of the debate keeping her head down and sticking to talking points, flashed some anger over the issue.
'It's targeting vulnerable people, and quite frankly, it's bull[expletive],' Sherrill said. 'We have to do better at protecting vulnerable people, but we can't fall into these traps, because we're losing on this issue.'
All of the candidates — including Sean Spiller of Montclair, the New Jersey Education Association president — condemned the U.S. immigration enforcement sweeps on undocumented migrants, such as a raid on a Newark fish market late last month.
They accused Trump of insensitivity and going overboard — and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka asserted that the raids were motivated by white supremacy and racism. But the Trump election effect caused some divisions on the issue.
Former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney took Trump to task but has called for rescinding the 'sanctuary state' directive that limited cooperation with local federal immigration officers. He struck a right-leaning chord that he believes will resonate among what polls suggest is a public largely supportive of Trump's immigration crackdown.
'He's doing it illegally; he's doing it without legal search warrants," Sweeney said of Trump. 'But I also believe someone that's a criminal comes in this country, and someone breaks the law in this country, shouldn't be in this country. It's a privilege.'
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Tenafly, who draws heavily from the centrist playbook of his onetime boss, former President Bill Clinton, also took a similarly hard line on law-violating immigrants. But Gottheimer used the event to promote his pledge to lower the cost of living by cutting property taxes by 15%, even though, technically, local governments and school boards, not governors, cut property taxes.
Yet Gottheimer believes the shell-shocked Democratic base is ready to rally around a tax-cutting warrior, even if his proposal is propped up by dubious methods of paying for the cuts. He cast himself as a fighter — a big post-Trump victory phrase — for the beleaguered everyman.
'We can do this. I'm a problem solver. People say this impossible, but that's the wrong attitude," Gottheimer claimed.
Only Baraka and Fulop vowed defiance in the face of Trump, with Baraka arguing that 'you can't fight extremism with moderation" and Fulop saying that if elected, he would not adhere to the tradition of maintaining a bipartisan balance on the state Supreme Court.
'We repeatedly go back and say, 'We'll play nice,' because it's the historical way that it's been, and you've seen what's happened with the federal government,' Fulop said. 'It's no secret that New Jersey is viewed as a purple state. If it becomes red, do you think that the Republicans are going to say, 'Well, this is the way it's been?''
But for the most part, the Democratic assault on Trump and his agenda was muted. It could be that they see no upside in appearing obsessed with anti-Trump fervor when voters made it known that the price of eggs and gasoline and worries over border security were top-of-mind issues in November.
What did the Republican candidates for NJ governor say?
The Republican candidates had no such hesitation two nights later.
'The next governor as a Republican has to capitalize on the momentum Donald Trump has given us in New Jersey,' said Bill Spadea, a former right-wing radio host from Princeton. 'Donald Trump showed us the pathway to victory, and the right way to handle this is to run that style campaign.'
Yet Jack Ciattarelli, the former Assemblyman who once described Trump as a 'charlatan' unworthy of the presidency, sought to hammer away at Spadea's credibility, pointing to critical comments Spadea made after Trump's 2020 loss. At the time, Spadea was urging the party to move on from Trump.
A centrist businessman from Somerset County for most of his political career, Ciattarelli cast himself as the candidate who could unify the GOP.
'Donald Trump did it on Election Day," he said.
The pro-Trump sentiment was also clear from the audience, which booed Bramnick when he said he opposed Trump's pardon of Jan. 6, 2021, rioters convicted of committing violence against police officers.
'Either we're the party of law and order, or we're not. You can clap, you can boo if you want, but I will stand with police officers every time,' Bramnick said.
The response is indicative of the challenges that a pro-choice, moderate, Trump-defying Republican has in surviving a primary that is pumped on Trump's reelection. Bramnick believes that the GOP doesn't stand a chance to win in November unless it fields a more moderate candidate like himself.
But the rest of those in the field — including Ed 'the Trucker' Durr, the former state senator from Salem County — apparently don't.
Democrats are figuring out how to proceed through the reconfigured Trump landscape. Republicans are moving full steam ahead. They are doubling down.
Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey's political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: stile@
