The six Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for governor in 2025 are Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, teachers union president Sean Spiller, and former Sen. Steve Sweeney. (Photos of governor’s office by Dana DiFilippo; Baraka by the New Jersey Governor’s Office; Fulop by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images; Gottheimer and Sherrill by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Spiller and Sweeney by Edwin J. Torres/ Governor’s Office)
Most New Jersey voters don’t bother with primary elections, with turnout rarely climbing into the double digits over the past two decades.
But next year’s primary could be a nail-biter, with six strong Democratic candidates competing to become New Jersey’s next governor — and every one having a decent shot at it, with election ballots overhauled to eliminate the powerful county line that gave party insiders’ preferred candidates advantageous ballot placement.
“It’s really wide open for any of the candidates, and that’s really unusual, to have a whole bunch of candidates who have a plausible path forward,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and law at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the executive director of the FDU Poll. “The mere fact we’re having a competitive primary on the Democratic side is a sign of the waning influence of the parties.”
That’s good for voters, who will get more choices, Cassino said.
“It’s likely to lead to higher voter turnout in the primary, because we actually have a meaningful choice,” he added.
Voter turnout in New Jersey’s primaries has rarely risen above 15% in the past two decades, dipping as low as 5% in 2015, state data shows.
Candidates from both major parties looking to land a primary win in June will cater to their base, which will push them toward their parties’ extreme sides, Cassino said. That could be bad for democracy, he added.
New Jersey voters historically have elected moderates on both sides of the political spectrum, Cassino said. Having moderates on either side “makes it easy for these folks to negotiate, to compromise, to put New Jersey first over what people on the extreme side of the party might want,” he said.
But, he added, “as the power of institutional party wanes, we could be losing that — and that’s not necessarily good for representation.”
Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term next year.
Here’s a look at who’s running on the Democratic side:
- Ras Baraka, 55, Newark’s mayor since 2014. Baraka previously served on the Newark City Council and was a high school principal.
- Steve Fulop, 47, Jersey City’s mayor since 2013. Fulop, a Marine veteran, previously served on Jersey City’s city council and has worked in finance.
- Josh Gottheimer, 49, a congressman who co-chairs the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Gottheimer was once a speechwriter for Bill Clinton and a Microsoft strategist.
- Mikie Sherrill, 52, a congresswoman, former Navy helicopter pilot, and former federal prosecutor, and the only woman in the race.
- Sean Spiller, 49, who has been president of the New Jersey Education Association since 2021. Spiller, a former teacher, also served one term as Montclair’s mayor and on Montclair’s council.
- Steve Sweeney, 65, a former ironworker and ex-state senator.
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