It was a big night for Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who decisively defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the race for New Jersey governor, but Democrat challengers to Republican incumbents in the 1st District Assembly contest and to the incumbents on the county Board of Commissioners were unsuccessful.
The governor’s race, thought to be a nail-biter, ended up being a double-digit victory for Sherrill, who sharply outperformed Phil Murphy’s performance in the 2021 election, when Ciattarelli also was the GOP gubernatorial candidate.
In 2021 Ciattarelli came within 4 percent, 84,286 votes, of beating Murphy; Sherrill won by about 13 points in 2025, with about 95% of the vote counted, according to The Associated Press. Affordability was a key issue this election cycle, with both candidates saying the other would drive up costs for residents.
Of local interest, Sherrill reiterated in her victory speech that she will freeze electricity rate hikes on “Day One” and will oppose the federalization of New Jersey’s National Guard. Ciattarelli had said he would permanently ban offshore wind farm development in New Jersey.
In the Assembly race, Democrats Carol Sabo and Carolyn Rush were turned back by Republican incumbents Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan. Democrats easily held control of the Assembly, where all 80 seats were up on Nov. 4, but their final margin was unavailable as of late Tuesday night.
Eric Morey, a Democrat from Wildwood Crest, challenged incumbent county commissioners Bobby Barr and Andrew Bulakowski for a seat but came up short.
In Wildwood Crest, incumbent Mayor Don Cabrera handily won another term, which he says will be his last. His running mates, Joseph Franco Jr. and Toni Fuscellaro, also won.
West Cape May saw a big victory for “Team West Cape May,” composed of incumbent Deputy Mayor George Dick and newcomers Susan J. Hoffman and Ellen McDevitt. They took all three open commission seats, defeating candidates on “Team Ready to Serve” and one lone candidate.
Ocean City’s Board of Education had three open seats, and the race was hot with culture war items. Winners were incumbent board President Kevin Barnes, Jennifer Dwyer and Jennifer Cawley-Black.
Upper Township’s school board contest was the closest among the contested races; it was the only election where a slate did not take all of the open seats. The winners were incumbent President Michele Barbieri and incumbent Christine Lentz, and newcomer Logan Bird, who ran on a competing team.
Voter turnout was high in Cape May County. Some 56.7% of the county’s eligible 76,340 voters cast votes. In 2021, Cape May County had the second-highest participation rate in New Jersey at 53%, beaten only by Hunterdon County.
Following is a summary of contested races. Votes and percentages, except in the governor race, are from Cape May County only. All results are unofficial.
Contested Races
Governor
Winner: Sherill won over Ciattarelli with 56.2% of the votes, with 95% of the votes in, according to The Associated Press. The Republican had 43.3% of the votes.
Cape May County went strongly for Ciattarelli (58.6% – 25,077 votes) over Sherill (40.86% – 17,492 votes).
Assembly – District 1
Winners: Republican incumbents Erik Simonsen (30.94% – 25,039 votes) and Antwan McClellan (30.64% – 24,797 votes). The district is composed of all of Cape May County and parts of Cumberland and Atlantic counties.
Simonsen and McClellan were challenged by Democrats Sabo (19.33% – 15,642 votes), the mayor of West Cape May, and Rush (19.04% – 15,406 votes), a former engineer at Lockheed Martin.
County Board of Commissioners
Winners: Republicans Bobby Barr (38.60% – 26,268 votes) and Andrew Bulakowski (36.15% – 24,600 votes).
Barr and Bulakowski kept their two seats against a challenger, Democrat Eric Morey (24.85% – 16,911 votes). Morey faced a steep uphill challenge, but it remained to be seen if he could make inroads with Republican voters and independents.
Wildwood Crest Commission
Winners: Incumbent Mayor Don Cabrera (24.35% – 1,011 votes), Joseph Franco Jr. (17.2% – 711 votes) and Toni Fuscellaro (17.05% – 708 votes). Cabrera will likely retain his title of mayor.
All three spots on the commission were up for grabs, and nine candidates sought them. The borough is in the midst of a battle over the future of its dune system. The Five Mile Dune Project, which would create an islandwide dune using a good deal of sand from Wildwood Crest, has been a sore spot in the election. Cabrera and his running mates oppose the project, saying it would shrink the Crest’s usable beach space.
West Cape May Commission
Winners: “Team West Cape May” won all three seats: Incumbent Deputy Mayor George Dick (18.49% – 331 votes), Susan J. Hoffman (18.88% – 338 votes), and Ellen McDevitt (17.77% – 318 votes).
Though they ran a loud race, the opposing team lost decisively: Incumbent commissioner Giacomo Antonicello (13.52% – 242 votes), Dawn Vitagliano (10.61% – 190 votes), and Hamilton Wilde (10.5% – 188 votes).
The structure of West Cape May’s commission government means that elected commissioners have a more active hand in day-to-day governance compared to neighboring Cape May, which operates under a council/manager structure. The structure requires close coordination between commissioners. It also means that the functions of governance can slow down if commissioners don’t get along. Six candidates were running together as teams of three. A seventh candidate, Joseph Gilmartin, ran independently.
Ocean City Board of Education
Winners: Team “Empower All Students” won all three seats: Incumbent board President Kevin Barnes (18.44% – 919 votes) and newcomers Jennifer Dwyer (17.91% – 893 votes), and Jennifer Cawley-Black (17.95% – 845 votes).
They defeated team “Transparency & Common Sense,” Robin Shaffer (14.66% – 2,198 votes) and incumbents Catherine Panico (15.85% – 2,378 votes) and Elizabeth Nicoletti (16.21% – 2,431 votes).
The winning team tried to avoid the appearance of partisan politics and pointed to the school’s best-in-county test results and other achievements as signs that the district does not need a significant change.
Team “Transparency & Common Sense” leaned heavily into culture war issues, especially around LGBT students. The team nabbed endorsements from Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA and ran in opposition to LGBT representation in curriculum and against state Board of Education Policy 5756, which advises educators against informing parents of a change in name or pronoun use without the student’s permission.
Upper Township Board of Education
Winners: Incumbent board President Michele Barbieri (17.09% – 2,738 votes), incumbent Christine Lentz (17.39% – 2,786 votes) and newcomer Logan Bird (17.07% – 2,735 votes).
Six candidates were running for three seats. Barbieri and Lentz were teamed with former school board member Brian Teeney (16.89% – 2,705 votes). They faced Bird and newcomers Kristi Lancaster (15.42% – 2,470 votes) and Meghan Miller (15.90% – 2,547 votes), all parents of district students.
Money was the central issue. The district’s new $41 million budget raised taxes by about $116 for the average household, giving Upper the highest school tax rate in Cape May County. The cost for Upper Township to send its high school students to Ocean City High School has now risen to $12 million, while state aid has been cut by more than half since 2018, leaving locals frustrated.
Uncontested Municipal Races
Dennis Township
Republican incumbents Zeth Matalucci and Matthew Cox were returned to the Township Committee without opposition for new three-year terms.
Lower Township
Council member Joseph Wareham, appointed earlier this year, secured the Second Ward seat for the remainder of the unexpired term ending 2026.
Middle Township
Committee member James Norris was reelected unopposed for his third term.
North Wildwood
Council President Salvatore Zampirri will step into the mayor’s role following longtime Mayor Patrick Rosenello’s decision not to run again.
City Council: Rosenello, Margaret “Peggy” Bishop and Cheryl Crowe were all elected unopposed.
Stone Harbor
With Victor Foschini and Jennifer Gensemer stepping down, Frank Vaul and Robert Ross were elected to fill their seats, while Kenneth Biddick will continue serving the remaining one year of Tim Carney’s unexpired term.
Upper Township
Incumbents Tyler C. Casaccio and Victor Nappen II were reelected unopposed to new three-year terms.
Woodbine
Republican incumbents Mary Helen Perez and Edwardo “Chino” Ortiz were reelected unopposed to the Borough Council.
