WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey voters will decide a competitive race for governor Tuesday in a contest that will be viewed through the lens of national politics, regardless of who wins.
Also on the ballot is a race for the open seat for Jersey City mayor, which will feature a former governor, and legislative races across the state for the heavily Democratic state General Assembly.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are the candidates to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Sherrill is a four-term U.S. Representative and former Navy helicopter pilot. Ciattarelli is a former state lawmaker who came within about 3 percentage points of unseating Murphy in the 2021 gubernatorial race. He has key support from President Donald Trump, who recently spoke on the candidate’s behalf during a conference call.
WATCH: A look at the New Jersey gubernatorial race and its national implications
Sherrill and Ciattarelli are tied in terms of campaign finance, with both candidates bringing in nearly $20 million for their respective campaigns.
New Jersey is one of two states that will hold gubernatorial elections in November. Historically, elections in New Jersey and Virginia have been closely watched nationally as a possible indicator of voter sentiment toward the party that holds the White House. In New Jersey, voters elected a governor from the party opposite the sitting president in every election from 1989 to 2017. That streak was broken in 2021, with Murphy’s re-election and President Joe Biden’s occupation of the White House.
In this election, that trend is at odds with another aspect of the state’s electoral history. No party has held New Jersey’s governorship for more than three consecutive terms since the 1960s, when a two-term Democratic governor succeeded another two-term Democratic governor.
In Jersey City, seven candidates are seeking to replace outgoing Mayor Steven Fulop, who lost the Democratic nomination for governor in June. Candidates to replace him include former Gov. Jim McGreevey, Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea and Jersey City Councilman James Solomon. McGreevey was elected governor in 2001 but resigned in 2004 following a scandal stemming from an extramarital affair with a male staffer. If no candidate obtains a majority of votes, the top two will face each other in a second round on December 2.
All 80 seats in the state General Assembly will be up for election Tuesday. Democrats hold a 52-28 majority in the House.
New Jersey has been a reliable state for Democrats in presidential elections, not having gone with a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. Despite this history, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris received a relatively modest 52% of the vote in 2024, down from the 57% Biden received four years earlier.
Trump flipped five counties in 2024 that he lost to Biden in 2020: Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Morris and Passaic. His victory in Passaic is particularly notable because Biden won there in 2020 by a 17-point margin. Ciattarelli won four of those five counties in 2021 – all except Passaic.
The Associated Press does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it determines that no scenario exists for trailing candidates to close the gap. If no race has been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Recounts are rare in New Jersey. The state does not have automatic recounts, but candidates and voters can request and pay for them, with the cost refunded if the result changes. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Here’s a preview of what awaits you on Tuesday:
What time do polling stations open?
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The AP will provide voting results and declare winners in races for governor, state General Assembly and Jersey City mayor.
Who can vote?
Registered New Jersey voters can participate in the statewide gubernatorial election or local races in their General Assembly district or municipality.
What does participation and early voting look like?
As of October 1, there were approximately 6.6 million registered voters in New Jersey. Of these, about 38% were Democrats, about 25% were Republicans, and about 35% were unaffiliated with any party.
In the 2021 general election for governor, turnout was approximately 40% of registered voters. Around 30% of the votes were cast in advance or by correspondence.
As of Monday, nearly 735,000 early and absentee ballots had already been cast. About 56% of those ballots came from Democrats, about 27% from Republicans, and about 17% from voters unaffiliated with any party. Check AP Advance Vote Tracker for the latest update.
How long does vote counting usually take?
In New Jersey’s 2024 presidential election, the first results reported by the AP came from Hudson County at 8:01 p.m. ET, one minute after polls closed. Vote counting ended overnight at 4:21 a.m. ET in Burlington County with approximately 95% of votes counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.
— Robert Yoon, Associated Press
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