Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli won their respective party’s primary on Tuesday, NBC News projected, and will face off in November’s general election for governor. New Jersey is just one of two states with a governor’s race this year,

Both the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop ran insurgent, grassroots-styled campaigns in the left lane, hoping to nab the support of progressives to overtake Sherrill. Baraka placed second (20.5%), and ended up winning Essex — also Sherrill’s home county — and Union, which were big surprises.

Democrats will choose a nominee for New Jersey governor from among six prominent candidates, including two big-city mayors, two members of Congress and two union leaders. With a redesigned ballot intended to give all candidates a fair shot, it is the first race in decades that was not largely predetermined by local party leaders.

Polls in the New Jersey primary for governor have officially closed Tuesday night, as of 8 p.m. The candidates on the Democratic and Republican side of the aisle are all hoping to make the November general election ballot for a chance to succeed Gov.

In a crowded race for governor, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill built a statewide coalition in the Democratic primary that stretched from New Jersey’s northernmost county down to Cape May. Turnout in the Democratic primary improved by more than 270,

Jack Ciattarelli will win the Republican gubernatorial primary in New Jersey, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. His victory was propelled by President Donald Trump’s endorsement and sets him up for another chance at leading the Garden State after losing narrowly four years ago.

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic primary election for New Jersey governor in 2025, defeating a crowded field of candidates.

Ciattarelli on Wednesday immediately headed to voters who have long been part of the Democratic base, visiting a bakery in heavily Hispanic Dover, in Morris County, as his first stop. In the 2024 election, Hispanic voters in North Jersey drove much of the state’s shift toward Trump.