2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election

The 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2025, to elect the governor of New Jersey. Democratic U.S. representative Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican former nominee Jack Ciattarelli. Sherrill succeeded Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy, who was term-limited and thus ineligible to seek a third term.

Primary elections were held on June 10, 2025. Sherrill won the Democratic nomination with 34% of the vote over a field of candidates that included Newark mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop. Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee in 2021, won his second consecutive nomination with almost 68% of the vote over radio talk show host Bill Spadea.

After strong Republican performances in the state in 2021 and 2024, many analysts expected a close race. Some polls suggested the election was a toss-up. However, Sherrill outperformed expectations and won with a decisive 14.36% margin of victory, slightly larger than Murphy's 14.14% margin in 2017. This election was the widest Democratic margin since 2001, and the highest vote share for a Democratic nominee since 1989. Sherrill was the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate to win Morris County since 1973. Sherrill also lost Hunterdon County by single digits, which is the narrowest Republican margin since 1977. Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli obtained the most votes cast in any New Jersey gubernatorial election, and this election had the highest turnout since 1997.

Sherrill was sworn in as the 57th governor of New Jersey on January 20, 2026. She became the second female governor in New Jersey history, the first Democratic female governor in New Jersey history, and the first female military veteran to serve as governor of a U.S. state. This election was the first New Jersey gubernatorial election since 1961 in which either party won the governorship for three consecutive terms.