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Early in-person voting began Tuesday in New Jersey’s gubernatorial primaries, where Republicans are seeking to flip leadership in a traditionally blue state after falling short in 2024.
President Donald Trump, who endorsed Republican front-runner Jack Ciattarelli last month, voiced strong support for the candidate during a telephone rally Monday.
“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. He told voters they would be choosing whether the state remains a “high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state.”
The June 10 primaries will determine the Democratic and Republican nominees who will compete in November to replace Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who will not seek reelection due to term limits. Eleven candidates are on the ballot, including six Democrats and five Republicans, with early voting ending Sunday.
A Rutgers Eagleton Institute poll shows U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill leading the Democratic field with 17 percent support among likely voters, followed by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop at 12 percent, with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka also polling competitively.
On the Republican side, Ciattarelli leads with 42 percent, ahead of former radio host Bill Spadea at 12 percent. Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker, is campaigning on a platform modeled after Trump’s, with the slogan “Make New Jersey Affordable Again.”
In 2024, all 11 gubernatorial races, eight held by Democrats and three by Republicans, ended without a change in party control. Currently, Republicans serve as governors in 27 states while Democrats control 23.
Despite Republican optimism, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report still rates the New Jersey governor’s race as “Lean Democrat.”
“Given New Jersey’s historical edge for Democrats and tendency to punish the party in the White House, this race remains in the Lean Democrat column,” wrote Cook’s Matthew Klein. “But recent GOP inroads in the state give the party an unusual degree of confidence about their ability to put the contest in play come November.”
