New Jersey voters will be going to the polls for the primary elections on June 10 in the next step toward electing a new governor later this year.
With Phil Murphy prevented from running again due to term limits, the race has drawn a good handful of candidates on both sides of the political aisle.
The Democrats, who are seeking their third straight win in a gubernatorial election, a feat not accomplished since 1961, have fielded six candidates. The Republicans, who last won when Chris Christie defeated state Sen. Barbara Buono in 2013, have five candidates.
Most recent polls have Rep. Mikie Sherrill of the 11th Congressional District ahead for the Democratic nomination, while Jack Ciattarelli, who strongly challenged Murphy four years ago and who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, has the lead for the Republican nod.
The primary winners will square off in the Nov. 4 general election.
As early as May 13, a press release from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documented unprecedented primary fundraising by the gubernatorial candidates. The release stated, “Totals for the current campaign dwarf comparable figures for four previous gubernatorial elections going back to 2009.”
Along with the race for the governor’s office, all 80 seats in the Assembly are on the ballot, while no member of the state Senate has to face the voters this year.
Locally, the county clerk’s post and two seats on the Board of County Commissioners are open, along with 14 seats on seven local governing bodies and the election of one mayor.
As is often the case in Cape May County, all of the county and municipal elections are uncontested races, with no Democratic candidates running and with a single Republican for each position who has been endorsed by CapeGOP.
Governor
New Jersey is often a reliably blue state, especially in its federal representation in Congress and its state Legislature. But the office of governor has been in play several times. The last 10 directly elected governors, going back to Richard Hughes, who served from 1962 to 1970, were split, with four Republicans and six Democrats.
In the June primaries there are five Republicans on the ballot, Ciattarelli, Jon Bramnick, Bill Spadea, Justin Barbera and Mario Kranjac.
Ciattarelli is a former member of the state Assembly from the 15th District who ran a strong race against Murphy in 2021. He has been endorsed by the Cape May County GOP organization and also has the backing of President Donald Trump.
Ciattarelli has proposed a reduction in property taxes for most New Jerseyans through a plan to cap taxes based on a home’s assessed value. He wants to end the state’s sanctuary status and cut state spending by 30%. He has the lead among the GOP candidates in most recent polls.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick from the 21st District is running as the only Republican candidate who has been critical of Trump. Known as New Jersey’s funniest lawyer, Bramnick often does his standup routine in local comedy clubs.
Bramnick has made affordability central to his campaign. He says he seeks property tax relief and the creation of a citizen-led panel to improve government efficiency.
Bill Spadea built a career as a conservative radio host in New Jersey. Spadea has been critical of a number of the state’s Republican governors, calling them too moderate. He is a Trump supporter and says he will reverse the state’s sanctuary status.
Justin Barbera, a contractor from Burlington County, says education is a top priority. This race is Barbera’s second foray into election politics. He ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for a House seat in the 3rd Congressional District.
Barbera describes himself on social media as a MAGA Republican. He wants an efficiency task force, back to basics education and lower taxes.
Attorney Mario Kranjac served two terms as mayor of Englewood Cliffs, the first Republican in 40 years to hold the seat. Kranjac describes himself as a “forever Trumper.”
Kranjac says cutting property taxes is his number one priority. He, like others in the Republican primary, wants a new department of government efficiency.
Six Democrats are running for Murphy’s job. Two are mayors of the state’s two largest cities, Ras Baraka of Newark and Steven Fulop of Jersey City. Two others are members of the House of Representatives, Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer of the 5th District. Steve Sweeney is past president of the state Senate. Sean Spiller is president of the New Jersey Education Association, the teachers union, and a former Montclair mayor.
The Cape May County Democratic organization has announced that it “did not endorse any candidates for the primary.”
Baraka wants a state in which equity is the guiding principle. Baraka was arrested on federal trespassing charges at a demonstration at an ICE facility and later had the charges dropped.
He wants to deconstruct and rebuild the state budget. In that process he seeks new, higher income tax brackets for top earners.
Fulop has been mayor of Jersey City since 2013. He is the first Jersey City mayor to win three terms in office since Frank Hague. Fulop has a number of Assembly candidates running with his support, including Brandon Saffold and Carolyn Rush running in the 1st Legislative District that includes Cape May County.
Fulop has proposed a series of policy options stressing affordability, help for mass transit, tax reform and improvements to public safety.
Sherrill is leading the Democratic pack in many of the recent polls. She often speaks of her service as a Navy helicopter pilot and is a Naval Academy graduate. Sherrill was elected to the House in 2019.
Sherrill, like many of the candidates on both sides, has made affordability a central message in her campaign. She calls for strong opposition to policies of the Trump administration. She would like to see more price transparency in health care.
Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2017. He served as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and was an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign in 2008 against Barack Obama. He won his fifth term in November 2024, the same month in which he announced his intention to run for governor.
Gottheimer says he will lower property taxes by 14%, seeks reform of the State Health Benefits Plan and calls for resistance to Trump policies.
Sweeney was a member of the state senate for 20 years and served as its president for 12 of those years. He was a sponsor of Senate Bill 2 in 2018, the bill that reorganized the distribution of state aid to education districts across the state. He is the founder of the Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University.
He has positioned himself as the candidate who will fight for the working man. He pledges no tax increases while in office. Sweeney wants to see state investment in infrastructure, which he says will create jobs. He says he will cut housing costs.
Teacher and union leader Spiller served one term as mayor of Montclair, in Essex County. His campaign has been financially supported by an independent group called Working New Jersey. State Election Commission records show Spiller has himself raised less than $500,000 for the campaign.
Spiller says he is the most committed of the candidates to education. He also pledges to have the state push for 200,000 new homes to reduce the housing shortage.
Assembly
Both Assembly seats for the 1st Legislative District are on the ballot. Incumbents Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan are seeking reelection. They are running unopposed for the Republican nomination and have the support of CapeGOP.
Three Democrats, West Cape May Mayor Carol Sabo, Princeton University student Brandon Saffold, and former House candidate Carolyn Rush, are running for their party’s nod to oppose the incumbents. The county Democratic organization has opted to stay neutral in both the Assembly and gubernatorial primary races, pledging to support the winners.
Rush and Safford are part of a slate of candidates endorsed by Fulop. Sabo has been part of the West Cape May governing body since 2013.
Simonsen is a former councilman and mayor of Lower Township. He came to the Assembly in 2020. He works as director of athletics for the Lower Cape May Regional School District.
McClellan is a former Ocean City councilman who currently works in the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office. He came to the Assembly with Simonsen in 2020.
The 1st Legislative District encompasses all of Cape May County, most of Cumberland County and a small portion of Atlantic County.
County Offices
Two county offices are on the ballot; no Democrats are running.
Cape May County Commissioners Andrew Bulakowski and Robert “Bobby” Barr are seeking reelection and are running in the Republican primary unopposed, having been endorsed by CapeGOP.
County clerk Rita Rothberg is seeking another five-year term. She is unopposed for the Republican nomination and has been endorsed by CapeGOP. Rothberg was first elected county clerk in 2005.
Municipal Offices
Seven of the 16 municipalities in Cape May County have offices on the ballot. All Republican candidates are seeking party nominations unopposed. No Democrats are running.
In Dennis Township, Mayor Zeth Matalucci and Committeeman Matthew Cox are seeking reelection.
Lower Township has Ward 2 council member Joseph Wareham running for a one-year unexpired term. Wareham was appointed in January to an open seat with a term that expires at the end of 2026.
Middle Township committee member James Norris will be seeking reelection in November to another three-year term. Norris will be running for his third term on the governing body.
In North Wildwood, long-serving Mayor Patrick Rosenello, who has held that office since 2014, issued a statement saying it was time to “embrace a new chapter.” The contest for the Republican nomination for mayor was to be between council President Salvatore Zampirri and local businessman Edward Heuser until Heuser withdrew from the race.
Rosenello, saying he wants to stay involved in public service, has filed a petition for a City Council at-large seat that has two years left on its term. Council member Peggy Bishop will seek reelection to the First Ward seat, with newcomer Cheryl Crowe as a candidate for the Second Ward seat.
In Stone Harbor, the terms of Republican council incumbents Victor Foschini and Jennifer Gensemer end this year; neither filed a petition for the primary. Incumbent Kenneth Biddick, who was appointed to the vacant council seat of Tim Carney when Carney was elected mayor, will be running for the one year remaining on Carney’s unexpired term. Frank Vaul and Robert Ross are seeking the Foschini and Gensemer seats.
Upper Township has two incumbent Republicans running unopposed for reelection to the Township Committee, Tyler C. Casaccio and Victor Nappen II.
In Woodbine two incumbent council members are seeking reelection. They are Mary Ellen Perez and Eduardo Ortis.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
