Frontrunners cinch primary wins in New Jersey gubernatorial races

TRENTON, N.J. (CN) — The two lead candidates vying to take over the New Jersey governor’s mansion this fall netted their respective party’s primary races.

New Jersey Representative Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic nomination, while Jack Ciattarelli will reprise his role as hopeful Republican gubernatorial spoiler for the third straight time.

The winners quickly secured their nominations. As of 10 p.m. Eastern time — two hours after the polls closed and with about 70% of the state’s total vote counted — Sherrill had slightly more than one-third of the 625,000 tallied Democratic votes in her pocket, while Ciattarelli had amassed 67% of the roughly 333,000 GOP votes counted by that time.

Turnout for the primary was larger than expected, with 330,000 early vote ballots tallied and a record-breaking 90,000 Democratic early voting in-person ballots.

While the results are no real surprise given recent polling and fundraising data, the primary could have important implications for who controls Congress, as Sherrill is currently representing New Jersey in a competitive district that she flipped blue in 2018.

This gubernatorial race also is different than previous races in that ballots may no longer use the so-called “county line," which was done away with last year after now-U.S. Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat, successfully sued the state. Under the old system, county clerks could give visual priority on ballots to candidates backed by a county’s political party.

Sherrill has been in the driver’s seat of the campaign for months, playing to the moderate middle of the party and offering a generic campaign compared to her competitors.

Sherrill’s three main competitors were mayors Steve Fulop and Ras Baraka, as well as fellow U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, who also won his congressional seat during the “blue wave” of 2018.

Fulop tried running as the leading progressive candidate in the race and highlighted his bona fides as Jersey City’s mayor. Gottheimer, who ran a surprising fiscally conservative campaign, appeared to come in third.

As Newark’s mayor, Baraka also tried to capture the progressive wing and recently gained notoriety for his arrest after visiting a federal immigration detention center in his city.

Sherrill also lapped former political big dog Steve Sweeney — the former New Jersey Senate president who was ousted in 2022 by truck driver Edward Durr.

The Republican side was much more one-sided, as Ciattarelli was considered a shoo-in after he obtained approval from President Trump. In all recent polls, Ciattarelli eclipsed runner-up Bill Spadea by double digits.

In the most recent poll, conducted last week by Survey USA of 575 likely voters, most New Jerseyans favored Sherrill in the Democratic field, with the highest favorability rating. Gottheimer had slightly less favorability in the poll, clocking in at 36%, while Baraka and Spiller tied for third at 34%.

Sherrill also had the highest name recognition, according to the poll, with just 30% of those surveyed unfamiliar with her. The other Democratic candidates ranged from Sweeney’s 34% unfamiliarity to Fulop’s 42% unfamiliarity.

On the Republican side, the poll showed Ciattarelli with a 40% favorability rating and only 25% of those surveyed unfamiliar with him. However, the poll did not include GOP competitors Spadea or State Senator Jon Bramnick.

Overall, President Trump’s favorability is underwater in the state with 44% viewing the president positively while 53% view him negatively.

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