By Donald Gilpin
Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli are off and running in what’s been described by nj.com as a “bruising” race for governor of New Jersey, following last week’s primary election in which both candidates registered impressive victories over challenging fields of party rivals.
In Princeton and throughout the state, Democratic and Republican parties are gearing up for the general election, with Sherrill and Ciattarelli vying to take over for current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who is not eligible for another term. A number of state legislature and local offices are also on the ballot.
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states with gubernatorial elections this November, with those contests being closely watched as an indicator of voter attitudes towards President Trump in his first year back in office.
In the Democratic primary Sherrill, who represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, won 33.9 percent of the New Jersey Democrats’ votes, fending off five competitors. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was second with 20.6 percent and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop third with 16.0 percent, according to most recent unofficial totals.
In the Republican primary, Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman in his third race for governor, easily defeated his four opponents, tallying 67.8 percent of the vote to 21.8 percent for second-place finisher Bill Spadea, a radio host and Princeton resident.
In Princeton’s unofficial results, it was 45.6 percent for Sherrill, 28.6 percent for Fulop, and 14.1 percent for Baraka in the Democratic race, with 55.6 percent for Ciattarelli and 30.1 percent for Spadea in the Republican primary. Princeton Democrats cast 4,105 votes, Republicans 448 votes.
“It was a set of strong candidates,” said Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) Chair Jeffrey Oakman. “Mikie Sherrill ended up the victor by a significant margin, but it was great to see the range of interest.”
Oakman emphasized the “huge gulf” between the Democrats and “the MAGA Republican side of the equation.” He added, “Now is the time to focus on our shared values and get behind the Democratic candidates in the fall election. Donald Trump made it clear a long time ago that Jack [Ciattarelli] is his guy. He’s the MAGA guy in New Jersey.”
In planning for the coming four and a half months of campaigning, Oakman expressed a need to channel the energy from the primary into the general election. “We have a lot of work to do to make sure that we come out strong to reject what’s happening in D.C. from coming to New Jersey. Whether it’s DOGE or ending abortion rights or ending clean energy investments — any number of bad things that I think all of the Democratic candidates in the primary thought were bad. It’s time to coalesce on that.”
PCDO Elections Committee Chair Rachel Grainger noted that the organization would be organizing a number of door-to-door canvassing opportunities for volunteers looking to get involved in supporting Sherrill and other Democratic candidates on the ballot.
“Research tells us it’s the most effective strategy, but we’ll also add in some phone banking, tabling, and postcard writing, and we’ll see how that shapes up,” she said. “The bottom line is that we’re very excited to talk with voters about our Democratic candidates.”
She continued “New Jerseyans want and deserve elected officials who will understand what’s keeping them up at night and who will be fighting for them every day.”
Both Oakman and Grainger stressed the importance of the down-ballot races — for two seats in the state assembly, for Mercer County Clerk, for two county commissioners, and for Princeton Council.
Oakman went on to underline the close connection between Ciattarelli, who came within about three percentage points of defeating Murphy in the 2021 gubernatorial election, and President Trump, who endorsed him last month in the primary race.
“He is the Donald Trump handpicked candidate here,” said Oakman. “What we’ve seen around the country is that the Republican Party today is the MAGA movement, and whatever Donald Trump says to do, they jump and do it. Is Donald Trump on the ballot? He kind of is.”
Oakman added, “People need to understand that Mikie Sherrill and other Democrats on the ballot have a different vision for our state and our country, and that’s the vision that we support, and we need to mobilize people around that vision.”
Princeton Republican Municipal Committee Chair Dudley Sipprelle stated that Republicans in Princeton and throughout the state are also focused on the race for governor this year, and he noted that the gubernatorial contest might also have a strong influence on the down-ballot contests.
“I think it looks pretty good for Ciattarelli’s chances to be governor,” Sipprelle said, and he mentioned a number of issues — tax reform, capping property taxes, reducing state spending, improving a “terribly unfriendly business climate” — where he thinks the Republicans have strong platform positions.
“Ciattarelli has many winning reforms that he’s going to bring about,” said Sipprelle. “He says what it is. He’s transparent, unlike many of the Democratic programs. The Democrat program is ‘Stop Trump.’ That’s not a program that’s really going to help New Jersey.”
Sipprelle went on to cite a poll showing Trump as more popular than Murphy in New Jersey. “Running against Trump — if that’s all they’ve got, I don’t think that’s a winning program,” he said.
“Jack is presenting the facts and a policy and a program,” said Sipprelle. “If the president saw him as the strongest candidate and endorsed him, well, great. You don’t refuse endorsements from the president.”
In addition to the gubernatorial race, Princeton voters on November 4 will weigh in on a contest for two seats in the General Assembly representing the 16th district between incumbents Roy Freiman and Michelle Druilis for the Democrats and Catherine Payne and Scott Sipos for the Republicans; a race for Mercer County Clerk between incumbent Democrat Paula Sollami Covello and Republican challenger Shaolin Brown; and a contest for two spots on the Mercer County Board of Commissioners between Democrat incumbents Nina Melker and Cathleen L. Lewis and Republicans Daniel J. Hanley Jr. and Alexander DiFalco; and the uncontested race for two spots on Princeton Council with Michelle Pirone Lambros and Mia Sacks both seeking a third term.
“This is a critically important year to encourage folks to reach out and to get involved,” said Grainger.