New Jersey’s governor’s race sees more than 800,000 early votes cast before Election Day

ELIZABETH, N.J. — With less than a week to go until Election Day and the New Jersey governor’s race nearing a photo finish, both major party candidates are touting strong early voting numbers.

“We are seeing such great results in mail-in voting and early voting,” Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill told Fox News Digital on Wednesday after a meet-and-greet at a high-profile center in this northern New Jersey city.

But Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, in an interview with Fox News Digital before he gathered with supporters at a restaurant in the central New Jersey town of Robbinsville, highlighted that “we have more Republicans returning mail-in ballots than ever before.”

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The race in New Jersey — the only two states, besides Virginia, that hold gubernatorial contests in the year following a presidential election, giving them significant national attention — may come down to which party does a better job of energizing its voters and convincing its base.

More than 800,000 votes have already been cast in the Garden State race to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, with the majority coming through mail-in ballots.

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But nearly a quarter of a million people have cast ballots in early in-person voting, which began Saturday. This number already exceeds the turnout in the nine-day early voting period in the last gubernatorial election four years ago.

Overall, the number of registered Democrats who voted early is nearly twice as many as Republicans, continuing a trend seen in the past few election cycles.

Sherrill, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who piloted helicopters during her military career and briefly served as a federal prosecutor before winning her first congressional election in 2018, called the early voting numbers “really great news.”

“The trend is definitely a lot better than in ’21,” Sherrill noted, pointing to the gubernatorial election four years ago, when Ciattarelli, during his second bid for governor, came close to upsetting Murphy.

“We’re matching them, voter for voter, here in early voting. We’re in great shape. And we’re headed toward victory,” Ciattarelli stressed, referring to the in-person voting totals since Saturday.

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When asked what kind of turnout he would need next Tuesday on Election Day to overcome Sherrill’s overall early voting advantage, Ciattarelli would not give a number.

But he said, “It’s all about the turnout, and I’m very happy with the energy. The energy shows we’re going to have a good turnout, and the fact that we’ve gotten such a warm reception in minority communities across the state, as well as the endorsement of various Democrats across the state, suggests we’re going to win.”

On Thursday, Sherrill is teaming up for two events with one of the Democratic Party’s best speakers — former Transportation Secretary and former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. And over the past two weekends, some of the other biggest names in the party, the government. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, and Wes Moore of Maryland all campaigned with her.

The country’s most popular Democrat — former President Barack Obama — will lead a rally with Sherrill in Newark on Saturday during the final weekend before Election Day.

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Asked whether prominent surrogates were being used to drum up enthusiasm among Democrats, Sherrill said: “I think we’re seeing a lot of energy.”

But Chiattarelli claimed that “her campaign lacked energy from the beginning. It is too late now.”

Ciattarelli has been joined on the campaign trail over the past two weeks by two major MAGA stars and key allies of President Donald Trump — Vivek Ramaswamy of Ohio and Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.

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Trump led a rally call with Ciattarelli last Friday, the eve of the start of early voting, and his campaign told Fox News Digital that another phone rally with the president is expected before Election Day.

In a potentially close election where getting primary voters to the polls will be crucial, the hope is that phone rallies with the president, and the recent campaign stops for Ramaswamy and Donalds, will motivate MAGA supporters, many of whom are low-propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are highly competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five of the past 10 elections.

Trump made big gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by just six percentage points, a significant improvement over his 16-point deficit four years ago.

This year’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia are seen, in part, as ballot box referendums on Trump’s unprecedented and explosive agenda for a second term.

In the second and final debate this month, Sherrill accused her GOP rival of “showing no signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself has described Jack as 100% MAGA, and he has shown every sign of being one.”

Asked if he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was “part of the New Jersey movement.”

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When asked to rate the president’s performance so far during his second term, Chiattarelli said, “I would definitely give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything he does.”

“I think this tells us everything we need to know about who supports Jack Ciattarelli. I give him an F right now,” Cheryl replied, noting the high cost of living in New Jersey.

In the weeks following the final debate, Sherrill highlighted that Ciattarelli gave Trump an A rating.

At her headquarters on Wednesday, Sherrill said Trump is Ciattarelli’s political anchor.

“Given that the president is raising costs for everyone, this really hurts anyone associated with him, and my opponent certainly went along with the president, giving him an A,” she charged.

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Ciattarelli, a one-time certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before entering politics and winning election as a state legislator, earned Trump’s endorsement earlier this year in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Trump’s support helped Ciattarelli achieve an easy and convincing primary victory in a nomination race centered on the president’s support.

He has repeatedly criticized Sherrill for focusing on Trump, and said earlier this month that “there are clearly a significant number of people across the state of New Jersey who are happy with the job the president is doing.”