New Jersey gubernatorial race sees more than 800,000 early votes before Election Day

ELIZABETH, NJ – With less than a week until Election Day and the New Jersey gubernatorial race heading toward a possible photo finish, both major party candidates are touting strong early voting numbers.

“We’re seeing great results in mail voting and early voting,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill told Fox News Digital on Wednesday after a meeting at a senior center in the northern New Jersey city.

But Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, in an interview with Fox News Digital before gathering with supporters at a restaurant in Robbinsville, in central New Jersey, emphasized that “we had more Republicans than ever before.”

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The race in New Jersey — which, along with Virginia, are the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections in the year following a presidential election, giving them outsized national attention — could hinge on which party does the best job of energizing its voters and mobilizing its base.

More than 800,000 votes have already been cast in the Garden State race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, with the majority cast by absentee ballot.

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But nearly a quarter of a million people voted during in-person early voting, which began Saturday. That figure already exceeds turnout during the nine-day early voting period in the last gubernatorial election four years ago.

Overall, about twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans voted early, continuing a trend seen in recent election cycles.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, greets voters at a senior center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 29, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

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

“Certainly the trend is much better than in 2021,” Sherrill noted, referring to the gubernatorial election four years ago, when Ciattarelli, in his second run for governor, nearly upset Murphy.

Ciattarelli, noting in-person vote totals since Saturday, pointed out that “we’re matching them, voter for voter, here in early voting. We’re in great shape. We’re headed for a victory.”

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

But he said: “It’s all about turnout, and I’m very, very pleased with the energy. The energy demonstrates that we’re going to have a good turnout, and the fact that we’ve had such a warm reception in minority communities across the state, as well as support from various Democrats across the state, says we’re going to win.”

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli speaks with voters at a restaurant in Robbinsville, New Jersey, October 29, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

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

And the nation’s most popular Democrat – former President Barack Obama – will headline a rally with Sherrill in Newark on Saturday in the final weekend before Election Day.

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Asked if the high-profile surrogates were being used to drum up enthusiasm among Democrats, Sherrill said, “I think we’re seeing a lot of energy.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, left, teams up on the campaign trail with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in Newark, New Jersey, October 19, 2025. (Mikie Sherrill Campaign)

But Ciattarelli said his “campaign lacked energy from the start. It’s 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 headlined a tele-rally for Ciattarelli last Friday, the day before early voting began, and his campaign told Fox News Digital that another tele-rally with the president was expected before Election Day.

In a likely close election where getting rank-and-file voters to the polls will be crucial, the hope is that tele-rallies with the president and recent campaign stops by Ramaswamy and Donalds will energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low-propensity voters who often skip voting in years without presidential elections.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy leads a campaign event for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli October 15, 2025 in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser-Fox News)

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

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

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

During this month’s second and final debate, Sherrill accused his Republican rival of having “shown no signs of resisting this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he showed every sign of being one.”

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

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When asked to assess the president’s performance so far in his second term, Ciattarelli responded, “I would definitely give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything he’s doing.”

“I think that tells us everything we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli supports. I give him an F right now,” Sherrill responded, noting New Jersey’s high cost of living.

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill, right, and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, on stage at the start of their second and final debate October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News Digital)

In the weeks following the final debate, Sherrill pointed out that Ciattarelli gave Trump an A grade.

During his stop at the senior center on Wednesday, Sherrill argued that Trump was a political anchor for Ciattarelli.

“Since the president is raising costs for everyone, it really hurts everyone associated with him and my opponent certainly followed the president in giving him an A,” she charged.

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Ciattarelli, a former certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before entering politics and winning election as a state lawmaker, gained Trump’s support earlier this year in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Trump’s support helped Ciattarelli win an easy and convincing primary victory in a nomination race centered on support for the president.

He has repeatedly criticized Sherrill for her focus on Trump and said earlier this month that “there are obviously a lot of people across the state of New Jersey who are happy with the job the president is doing.”