Rep. Mikie Sherrill spoke with reporters after voting at Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, New Jersey, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
New Jersey is one of just two governor's races in 2025, along with Virginia. Both will be used by politicians and pundits to gauge how Americans are responding to Trump's second term ahead of the midterm elections next year.
TRUMP FRONT-AND-CENTER IN REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR GOVERNOR AS EARLY VOTING KICKS OFF
As they campaigned for the coveted nomination, Democratic candidates walked a fine line between building on Murphy's legacy and promising to change the status quo in Trenton. Like Murphy, Democratic candidates have rejected Trump's executive orders, his crackdown on illegal immigration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts.
Acting as the last line of defense to a sweeping Republican agenda, Democratic governors have often rejected Trump's executive actions during his second term. By suing the Trump administration to unlock federal funds or refusing to comply with ICE deportations, Democratic governors – including many rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions – are often leading the party's resistance to Trump.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, joined by her children, arrives at Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, New Jersey, to cast her ballot in the primary. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
"Governor Newsom surged law enforcement in, and what Trump seems to be doing is trying to add fuel to the fire and really make the situation violent and bad," Sherrill told reporters after casting her ballot in Montclair on Tuesday morning. "That's completely unacceptable."
Gottheimer said it was "outrageous" for Trump to send the National Guard to California without Newsom's request.
"The fact that the president, for the first time since 1965, sent troops in from the National Guard without a request from the governor is outrageous. It's just more chaos that we're used to having in this administration. It's not how I would approach this," Gottheimer told Fox News Digital after voting in Tenafly.
A "Vote Here" sign at the Presbyterian Church in Tenafly, New Jersey, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
While Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey in 2024 as expected, Trump gained a nearly five-point improvement from his 2020 vote share and Harris' support dropped by about five points. He gained across New Jersey, with his largest swings in the northeast corner of the state. Hudson and Passaic counties lead the pack.
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Ciattarelli lost by a hair to Murphy in 2021 and framed his candidacy as a referendum on the Democratic policies that have driven New Jersey for the past eight years.
Fox News' Remy Numa contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrat-mikie-sherrill-wins-nj-gubernatorial-primary-setting-up-showdown-trump-backed-gop-winner