In many ways, the election of Democrat Mikie Sherrill as New Jersey’s next governor represents a historic moment in the Garden State. It was not the charisma of the candidates or the revolutionary nature of the insights they brought to the campaign that made the race important. It was the message the voters sent.
In her speech after news services called the election in her favor, Sherrill told New Jerseyans that they had “screamed from the rooftops, and people around the country heard you.”
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There is an anger building that incumbents would ignore at their peril.
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Of course, the real question is whether those screams were heard in Trenton and Washington. The message was important to both.
To support the claim that this was a significant election in the Garden State, one need only look to the numbers. Republican Jack Ciattarelli garnered 1.3 million votes. That is more votes than any Republican gubernatorial candidate received since 1969. Yet he lost by 13 points.
Sherrill, who no one would accuse of being charismatic, scored 1.8 million votes, more than any candidate for governor in the state’s history.
No matter how strongly you identify with either candidate, there was a message in that kind of vote, and that message went beyond what the candidates themselves brought to the election.
Despite his denials, President Donald Trump was on the ballot, and he did not do well in New Jersey. State Democrats and a large portion of independents voted to express their dissatisfaction with the administration in Washington.
Hopefully, the message will not be dismissed simply as commentary from a blue state. There is more to it than that. Sherrill’s election broke a pattern that had held sway in state politics since the early 1960s, more than 60 years ago. This is the first time since then that a party has won the governor’s office in three consecutive elections. The last time that happened predates the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
There was plenty for state voters to be dissatisfied with, and the election was an opportunity to show that dissatisfaction to the party in power in Trenton, the Democrats. Instead, voters rallied to the Democrats. Progressives overlooked their distaste for Sherrill’s moderate views. Blacks and Hispanics put aside their grievances with state Democrats and refused to stay home. CNN exit polls showed independents voting for Sherrill 56% to 43%.
The danger here is that Trenton will fail to see the gift the voters gave to the Democratic Legislature. This vote was no thank-you for a job well done. Issues of affordability, energy policy, school funding, budget deficits and health care all remain front-and-center concerns for New Jerseyans. Legislators who see this race as confirmation of business as usual will have misread the message badly. With midterms in 2026 and the entire state Senate on the ballot in 2027, that could be a catastrophic error.
Voters want improvements, and they want to see action soon. The only thing lower than Gov. Phil Murphy’s approval ratings are Donald Trump’s. There is an anger building that incumbents would ignore at their peril.
Sure, the gubernatorial election did not have the turnout that comes with a presidential contest, but it was significantly higher than usual for New Jersey’s off-year election of its chief executive. Here in Cape May County, turnout was 57%, compared to 52% in 2021, when Murphy won his second term. And while the results in the county remained strongly Republican, South Jersey flipped blue.
In 2021, the seven counties that traditionally constitute South Jersey had five of the seven vote majority Republican, with only Camden and Burlington voting Democratic. In 2025, the numbers flipped completely, with five majority Democratic votes, and only Cape May and Salem remaining Republican. Those kinds of changes are not inspired simply by a switch in party attraction. They represent more than that.
The voters want order brought to their government. They want elected officials working to address problems in ways that do not totally disrupt their lives. They want transparency and responsiveness. The Virginia election and the New York mayor’s race are more signs of people seeking a different form of leadership.
Party pundits will put their spin on the election results. But the danger for both parties would be to believe the spin. The voters want elected officials who are going to turn their attention and skills to resolving the serious issues that are impacting their lives. It is time to govern.
Quotes From the Bible
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.”
-Psalm 69:1-2
