Governor’s race heats up with four weeks of voting left

One candidate for governor has accused an opponent of “a long history of corruption.”

Another called his chief rival a “professional liar.”

Yet another produced an ad depicting him boxing President Donald Trump.

And another was arrested last week by federal agents during a protest outside a new migrant jail in Newark.

Welcome to the wild race for New Jersey governor, which features 11 candidates and is potentially the most competitive race for the state’s top job in half a century. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is stepping down in January after two terms, and six Democrats and five Republicans are vying in the June 10 primary for their party’s nomination to succeed him.

The drama of the race has increased significantly in recent days with the May 9 arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat accused of trespassing at Delaney Hall, the new migrant jail.

Speaking to reporters in Newark on Saturday, Baraka attacked the Trump administration for making law firms afraid to represent certain clients and causing judges and elected officials to fear getting arrested for “behaving in their conscience.”

“This is authoritarianism. There is no other way to describe what’s happening in this country right now but authoritarianism,” he said.

Baraka’s arrest elicited a rare moment of unity among Baraka’s opponents, who all condemned his arrest. Three of them made their own appearances outside Delaney Hall on Saturday to highlight their opposition.

Asked for his thoughts on the statements of support from his rivals, Baraka said with a smile, “I’m glad that they are, you know, making the most of this.”

Baraka is joined in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nod by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, teachers union chief Sean Spiller, and former state Sen. Steve Sweeney.

Sherrill took aim at President Donald Trump over Baraka’s arrest at an appearance in Cranford Saturday. Speaking to more than 100 people crowded in the gymnasium of a community center in the Union County town, Sherrill likened the masked federal immigration agents that arrested Baraka to secret police, worrying the administration would broaden its net to target dissidents in addition to immigrants who lack permission to be in the United States.

“I know what it’s like in countries where people are picked up without charges, and let me tell you: It might start with green card holders, but it does not end there,” she said. “It ratchets up until anyone speaking out against the government is detained without charges. That’s my fear. That’s why I’m speaking out right now.”

Trump appeared top of mind for many of the attendees. Every question Sherrill took from the audience touched on his administration. Residents asked how to deal with fear of the administration, how to protect the state from federal cuts and how to push back against Trump’s government broadly.

Sherrill said New Jersey should seek to recoup federal funds diverted from congressionally approved spending, bolster civics education to stop democratic backsliding, and stay united to better survive attacks.

“The way this works is if you get picked off one by one, it doesn’t result in us winning. It’s us coming together — that’s the biggest challenge to this administration,” she said.

Sherrill has in recent weeks set her sights on Fulop, accusing him of serving real estate interests over his constituents during his three terms as mayor of New Jersey’s second-largest city. Fulop, in a video he posted last week on social media, said Sherrill’s attacks on him show her campaign is “rightfully” scared of him.

“I’ve seen on the ground over the last month that we’ve been growing fast and I can see the sentiment, and I guess that the political establishment in New Jersey is concerned that our campaign will change New Jersey, and I feel good about that,” he said.

Fulop has said he wants to remake Trenton, aligning himself with about three dozen Assembly candidates, many of whom are running against incumbent Democrats, and offering some of the harshest criticism of the incumbent governor outside of the GOP race. During an interview on ABC 7 over the weekend, Fulop said Murphy has been too cozy with Trump administration officials.

“I think sometimes Governor Murphy is conflict-averse and risk-averse, if you want to be honest about it. And I think that he’s taken a tone with President Trump since he’s been there of somewhat conciliatory, and I think that that’s a mistake because I don’t think President Trump respects people when they’re too kind. I think he respects strength and I think if you have a point you should be assertive on it,” Fulop said.

Gottheimer has made lowering taxes the central plank of his campaign (he promises to lower property taxes by 15%). Gottheimer appeared at a supermarket in an industrial section of Elizabeth last week to tout his support from Latinos who said they’ve already cast their ballots for him, in large part because of his promise to lower taxes.

Gottheimer said that while he believes New Jersey is the best state, there needs to be a sharper focus on making sure people can afford to live here to raise their families and stay here after they retire.

“Our state’s at an inflection point. Our next governor needs to be someone who understands that squeeze families are feeling,” he said. “We’ve got to actually change the way we’re doing things and prioritize lowering taxes and lowering costs for families and making sure we fight to look out for everybody.”

Gottheimer also pointed to the rising cost of utility bills, set to jump 20% next month, and the looming impact of Trump’s tariffs. He said consumers could pay an extra $5,000 annually on goods like clothing and food because of Trump’s economic policies. He said he’s been “leading the charge” to fight back against the tariffs.

“In our great state, we want everyone to have a great education, a great shot and a safe neighborhood to grow up so their families can do well and they can do well,” he said.

Gottheimer joined Spiller in Newark Saturday to speak to reporters outside Delaney Hall and denounce Baraka’s arrest.

“We’re here right now because it takes every one of us, right?” Spiller said. “We all know that part of being a community is that we can all do different work, we can all fight for the people. But this is an example of if you’re going to come after one of us, you’re going to come after all of us.”

Spiller, like the rest of his Democratic rivals, has used Trump and Trump advisor Elon Musk as punching bags on the campaign trail. He said the pushback against Baraka’s arrest is part of the collective movement among Democrats to push back against “what we’re seeing in D.C.”

“They’re attacking our people. They’re working to divide us,” Spiller said.

Sweeney has leaned heavily on his background as an ironworker, with his allies saying 2025 is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to “put a man of labor” in the New Jersey governor’s seat.

“I’m running against people who went to the Naval Academy, people who went to Harvard, and I went to apprenticeship school. But guess what? My education was on the street. That’s as valuable as any other education you can possibly get,” Sweeney told the International Longshoremen’s Association.

Sweeney was a state senator for nearly 20 years and has used his time in the Legislature to argue that he can get things done in ways his rivals cannot. During a Monday Democratic debate on NJ Spotlight News, he argued that a Christie-era 2% property tax cap that he supported has helped keep property taxes from rising higher than they would have without it.

“What that cap has done has forced towns to start sharing,” he said. “But the 2% property tax cap … cut the property tax from $15,000 to $10,000.”

The GOP primary includes contractor Justin Barbera, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, ex-Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, and former New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea.

Bramnick has separated himself from his rivals by distancing himself from Trump (Bramnick has been a vocal Trump critic) and offering to work with Democrats. During a debate last week hosted by NJ Spotlight News, Bramnick urged his opponents to “show some heart.”

“I’m not a bully pulpit guy, I’m a guy who says, ‘Let’s work with everybody,’” he said. “You don’t treat people with disrespect. That’s not what toughness is.”

Ciattarelli, who is running for governor for the third time this year, told supporters in Manahawkin on Thursday that voters have told him they’re focused on four big issues — affordability, public safety, public education, and overdevelopment — and he believes this will be a change election.

“It’s not just Republicans. I find it wherever I go, all around the state. People are ready for change because Phil Murphy’s policies have failed, and the Democratic hopefuls have all been complicit in that failure,” he said.

Ciattarelli said he wants to freeze property taxes for homeowners once they turn 70 and place a moratorium on home reassessments after improvements. He said he wants to lower the corporate business tax and attract more data centers to the state.

He also urged people to vote for Republican legislative candidates, underscoring the importance of a majority in order to move his goals forward. All 80 state Assembly seats are on the ballot this year (Democrats hold a 52-28 majority in that chamber).

“If you want change, you got to make a change,” he said. “Give us a chance. I guarantee you’re going to like our common sense, conservative approach to governance here in New Jersey, but just give us a chance. I will tell you this opportunity exists.”

In Seaside Heights on Saturday, Spadea took a page from the Trump playbook, riling up a crowd of about 75 supporters in a restaurant off the boardwalk by dreaming up new nicknames for Ciattarelli.

“Jack China-relli — while we have veterans who sleep without a roof over their head or a job to go to on Monday morning, he’s supporting, with your money, funding illegal aliens going to college. Think about that,” Spadea said.

(Ciattarelli once supported legislation to make some undocumented immigrants eligible for in-state college tuition rates.)

Spadea repeated that he intends to overhaul New Jersey’s energy goals and remove political adversaries from the state Board of Education. And he made sure the crowd knew he’s aligned with Trump.

“Being the only candidate that has a plan to lower energy costs, the only candidate that has a solid plan to lower real estate taxes, the only candidate that’s got an actual plan to make our streets safer and our government more affordable — I feel fantastic,” Spadea said.

Spadea was joined by Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to giving false statements to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat (Trump pardoned Flynn in 2020). Flynn elicited massive cheers from the crowd when he talked about needing more “legal citizens” to vote in June. After the rally, people lined up to take photos with Flynn.

Spadea’s appearance with Flynn was part of a push to woo Trump voters, an effort that may have been dealt a fatal blow on Monday when Trump himself endorsed Ciattarelli, calling Ciattarelli “the best positioned to STAND TALL against the Radical Left Democrats.”

“Jack Ciattarelli is a WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump said on social media.