(upbeat music) - From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

- Good evening, it is election night in New Jersey.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

It all comes down to today.

Voters across the state are making their final choice for the top of the ticket before polls close at 8 p.m.

Will the third time be the charm for Republican Jack Ciatarelli or will voters select Democratic Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill as the next governor of the Garden State after a bitter record-breaking gubernatorial campaign where combined spending by the candidates and outside groups is expected to top 200 million by today and more than 1.3 million voters cast a ballot before the polls even opened this morning either early in person or by mail multiple polling sites temporarily closed this morning after precincts in seven counties received emailed bomb threats prompting election officials to direct some voters to other polling locations.

Now state officials later deemed the threats not credible.

Meanwhile, all 80 seats in the state assembly are also up for grabs tonight, plus one Senate seat in Patterson.

Control of the statehouse and the direction of New Jersey for the next four years are on the line.

We'll give you a look at both gubernatorial candidates and where they stand on the issues.

We also have reporters out across the state at the polls, speaking with voters and keeping tabs on any irregularities at polling sites.

And later, we'll get analysis from our panel on what to expect tonight and beyond.

That's all coming up tonight on NJ Spotlight News.

First, a look at the top of the ticket.

Mikey Sherrill is looking to make history tonight and hold the line for her party, where Democrats would retain control of the governor's office for another four years.

Now, she built much of her campaign around fighting President Trump's policies, and she's betting that suburban and urban voters, especially women and working families, will turn out both in support of her campaign and as a rejection to the White House.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports.

The Navy taught me in a crisis, you either find a way or make one.

She's running on a record of service.

Mikey Sherrill, a 53-year-old mom of four kids, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994, then served as an officer and Navy helicopter pilot for 10 years.

She later went on to become a prosecutor, earning the role of assistant U.S.

attorney for New Jersey in 2015.

Then in 2018, Mikey won her bid for Congress and is currently serving her fourth term as a Democrat, representing the state's 11th congressional district.

And she's running to be the second woman ever elected as governor of the state of New Jersey, going up against former Republican state assemblyman Jack Ciatarelli.

Let's be the state that builds more housing.

Let's fix the economy.

Let's make life more affordable for hardworking New Jerseyans, from health care to groceries to child care.

We can also be the state that sets a gold standard for protecting rights and freedoms, and we know they'll be under attack from Donald Trump's Washington.

Sheryl's running on a platform of affordability, addressing one of the major concerns among New Jersey residents at the moment, skyrocketing electricity rates.

Day one as governor, I'm declaring a state of emergency on utility costs.

Using emergency powers to end these rate hikes and drive down your bills.

And Sheryl says she'll be the one to fight policies in Washington that are hurting New Jersey, like massive funding cuts to Medicaid and other social support programs that help low to moderate income families.

It's not just fighting back against cuts to Medicaid, against cuts to Social Security or the Department of Education, all that would do to our state.

It's not just having a really strong Attorney General, as I would, to fight back against what's going on in Washington that's harming New Jersey, but it's also fighting for the people of New Jersey, driving down housing costs and utility costs and health care costs, making sure every kid in our state has access to a great education.

Cheryl said she'd require school districts to merge to help drive down property taxes that have funded public education.

We have some school districts who have the whole administrative cost, all of the buildings, running a K through 12 sch also backed county based most segregated statewide the nation.

Cheryl's prom pension system and says s approaches, high impact tu of teaching literacy call reading to help close ach students plus more mental and then there's housing.

make New Jersey more affo make housing here more af housing costs will go dow affordable housing expand stated whether she'd cont state mandates under the requiring municipalities to meet certain development numbers.

But she has said she'd work with municipalities to expand what she calls the quote, "missing middle housing" that's affordable housing in communities that haven't kept pace with demand.

And then there's transportation, which the Congresswoman says she'll fund to put an end to the nightmare transit situation that residents have endured.

If we have a great transit system, that's good for business.

for people working here for and for getting to and fr do that.

We can look overse into the transit system.

W her opponent, Cheryl will be a strong showing from the black community.

She's chosen Dale Caldwell, son of a civil rights leader and president of Centenary University, to be her running mate.

And our senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan joins us from East Brunswick where Mikey Sherrill and her camp will be tonight.

Sherrill brought in big names to stump for her in the final days of the campaign, including former President Barack Obama.

Polls have consistently given Sherrill the lead, though it's narrowed throughout the stretch.

But what are voters saying on the ground?

Brenda caught up with a few outside the polls and Cheryl as she voted today in Montclair.

Brenda.

Hi, Brianna.

We're at the East Brunswick Hilton Ballroom where Mikey Cheryl is going to be hosting her election night watch party this evening.

I want you, though, to take a look at the risers over here where you'll see all of the TV news cameras and national news coverage because while this is a race for governor of New Jersey, it's also a referendum on Donald Trump and the impact of his second administration on residents here.

Now we did catch up with voters and the candidate who cast their ballots in Montclair this morning.

And the thing on their minds is costs, both utility costs, housing costs, health care costs, and then how they keep getting worse under this administration with the tariffs, with the one big beautiful bill, with the recent attacks on the Gateway Tunnel.

You know, we are going to be working here in New Jersey to claw back as much federal funding as possible to continue to run this innovation economy.

When he destroys the East Wing of the White House without going through any proper channels, when he defies court orders, what is going to happen?

And I think with her background, her military background, she's tough enough to stand up to it.

I want to ensure that all people maintain the right to marriage, maintain the right to health care, maintain the right to dignity and respect.

What's happening right now with the government shutdown, that's the biggest thing and that's the biggest issue because a lot of these kids rely on, you know, the food, the different things of that nature and the families rely on those things.

Cheryl voted without incident and called bomb threats at Jersey polling places quote an effort to suppress voter turnout.

She also helped launch canvas efforts in Hudson and Union counties today, part of a well-financed get out the vote effort aimed at winning back some of the New Jersey voters who shifted to Trump last November.

Sheryl's campaigned hard to re-energize her base.

She banked a 300,000 vote margin amongst registered Democrats before Election Day to overcome what some called an enthusiasm gap.

We've just not seen that on the ground.

We've seen you know rallies with thousands of people.

The early vote, the vote by mail's look very very good.

We've surpassed the firewall We wanted to put in place today the blue firewall, which is the numbers are looking good.

So we just are going to run through the tape and continue getting out every vote.

Party leaders will be keeping their eyes on areas like Union City, Patterson and Middlesex, hoping for a strong turnout in this off-year election.

In East Brunswick, I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Back to you, Brianna.

All right, thanks for that, Brenda.

Well, Republican Jack Cittarelli has been barnstorming the state, running for governor for the third time.

And unlike the last race four years ago, he's embraced President Donald Trump, along with the MAGA movement behind him.

Trying to prove the president's gains within blue parts of New Jersey last year weren't just a fluke, but the start of a lasting conservative shift here.

Senior Correspondent Joanna Gagas takes a look at the candidate and his campaign.

He's a lifelong Jersey native whose family roots in the state go back 100 years.

That's a message you'll hear Jack Cittarelli repeat on the campaign trail.

The 63-year-old dad career serving on the Rar in 1990.

After serving fi a business over the years then sold to medical publ 2007.

Chitarelli was elec now a Somerset County Com five years later became a in the 16th legislative d to fix new jersey when I' is Chittarelli's third ti His first attempt was in still an assemblyman and in the primary to then Lt Guadagno.

He ran again ag Phil Murphy in 2021, comi points of winning a much than anyone had expected.

a third time's the charm race against Democratic C I'll lower electricity bi is his top issue.

He want for seniors.

He says he'll namely the school funding taxes.

I've committed mys tax burden.

Our new jerse pay the highest overall t in the country.

I can re the size and cost of our afford a tax cut for indi He's a proponent of school for charter schools.

Chitt wants to follow Louisiana for closing achievement g only study english langua they're caught up.

He say housing mandates in towns the garden out of the gar and state.

Once a trump secured the endorsement o taking on his quote anti democrats out of touch an They push offshore wind w skyrocket.

They raised to fixed our roads and they than property taxes had e supports a controversial that came from the presid their eligibility twice a and fees like the corpor of Commerce and I'll show you a state that's perceived as not being pro-business.

And so under Governor Chiarelli, we will reestablish the Department of Commerce and that will be responsible for being a point of communication for the business community.

He'd create a Garden State Transportation Authority to oversee all of New Jersey's transit sectors.

Chiarelli is also running on a platform of law and order, consistently highlighting the rise of nonviolent crime, saying he'd undo a bail reform measure put in place by Republican Governor Chris Christie.

Cashless bail has created the professional criminal in the state.

There's got to be a consequence.

Professional criminals have learned how to game the system.

Talk to your local cops.

Arrest, release, repeat is real.

And he'd put an end to the notion of New Jersey as a sanctuary state, which started under Governor Murphy.

Executive Order Number One on day one, we're getting rid of the immigrant trust directive here in New Jersey.

I believe the immigrant trust directive, us having sanctuary cities, us being a sanctuary state, only encourages illegal immigration and restricts our local law enforcement in a number of different ways.

To reinforce his law and order platform, Chittarelli selected Morris County Sheriff James Gannon to be his running mate.

And while both candidates have hammered local issues, vowing to make the state more affordable and bring down energy costs, those topics gave Chittarelli the opportunity to hammer incumbent Democrats and Mikey Sherrill for carrying the blame.

And there's a lot riding on this election, both here and nationally, where the major parties see the outcome as a referendum on President Trump.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis joins us from Somerville with the latest.

Hey, Jo.

Yeah, Brianna, today started with an early morning visit to one of Jack Cittarelli's favorite places to campaign, a diner, this one in Succasunna in Sussex County.

Let me tell you, for 7 a.m.

the place was packed with supporters.

While there, he did an interview with Fox News where he repeated commitments to the issues that conservative voters hope take the day, reducing taxes, energy costs, getting rid of LGBTQ curriculum in our schools, and bringing back plastic bags.

He rejected the notion that New Jersey is a blue state.

It is not a blue state.

It is a purple state, and the people that would really dictate the outcome of the election are not just Republicans and moderate Democrats that are voting for me.

The 2.5 million unaffiliated independent voters that lean right and like everyone else are angry about the way things are, they're gonna be voting for us.

Today was pretty quiet for Cittarelli after an all-out blitz of campaigning, especially in the last week.

He did a town hall with Sean Hannity last Thursday.

There was a teller rally with President Trump last night where voters could call in to listen to the president's endorsement.

He's hoping all of that does turn out those independents.

And there was this emotional moment during the day yesterday when Cittarelli's son Jake, who's been serving overseas in Kuwait with the army, surprised his dad at a campaign stop in Totoa in Passaic County.

And last night he was on Fox once again talking about the early voting numbers that have come in so far.

Our return is better through the mail.

Our return is better through the nine days of early voting.

So again, the goal is to go into Election Day within a certain kind of striking distance, knowing how we performed in 21 on Election Day.

Sean, you know this, we still have a whole lot of people that, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle, that like to vote traditionally on Election Day.

Fine by us as long as they turn out.

Jack Titorelli himself voted last Friday.

We're in Somerville right now, which is where he was born.

We did speak to a couple voters who came out from this polling location to ask them who they're supporting and why.

I voted for Jack Titorelli.

I voted for Mikey Sherrill.

I'm just excited to see what she does for New Jersey.

I'm excited to see what she does for New Jersey.

I'm excited to see what she does for New Jersey.

In Somerville, I'm Joanna Gagis.

Back to you in the studio, Brianna.

Thanks, Joanna.

Well, the path to the governor's seat runs through historically Democratic strongholds that have become a battleground for the parties, including Passaic County, where President Trump, of course, made significant gains during the 2024 presidential race.

It's also one of just a handful of locations across the country where the Justice Department has sent election officials to monitor polling sites.

Raven Santana has the latest from the ground in Passaic County today.

Raven?

I'm here in Passaic where voting is underway in what's been considered a tense morning.

is the only county in New Jersey where the U.S.

Department of Justice says it's sending federal election monitors.

Still it remains unclear how many they are and where they will be.

And it's causing confusion and concern amongst voters.

I spoke with Passaic County is shaping up to be one of New Jersey's key Election Day battlegrounds after it unexpectedly swung for Donald Trump last year.

And now it's under federal watch.

The Department of Justice sent to observe voting here after a request from state Republican officials.

But the agency hasn't said how many monitors are coming what their roles will be or where they'll be stationed.

Even though he's sending out his spies to like try to help and turn people against one another.

We have to know what is what's good for us.

Federal election monitors are common but their presence still has some voters here feeling uneasy especially in a county with a high Latino population whose turnout at the polls could be decisive in this year's close election.

I think that's kind of scary.

Voting, it should be personal, it should be private.

Nobody should be monitoring who you're voting for.

typically observe activity The Passaic County Board cooperating with the just the election runs fairly one a little while ago.

U gentleman.

I have no prob monitors when you're runni You know, you don't worry nature.

Today's voting sta attention and the state c polling sites, including received threats early th sites have since been reo tactic.

I think it's impo definitely vote and get o of everything that's been nonpartisan groups like e say they're also monitori the state to make sure vo voters aren't intimidated.

monitors here sent by Tru I can sing.

And as you ju that tense atmosphere, vo here in Passaic are still to get out and vote back we're going to turn now to on the election day headl of the state's election commission.

We're joined by Ben Dworkin, director of the institute of public policy and citizenship at Rowan University.

Good to see you both.

We're going to be together all night.

Ben, let me ask you first, based off of the early voting numbers, what are you seeing and what are we expecting to see tonight?

Are we going to have an answer?

-We should have an answer for a couple reasons, but we should start with this.

Four years ago, about 2.

6 million people were voting in the gubernatorial election.

This time, we're looking of approaching closer to 3 million people.

So, turnout seems to be up across the board, all parts of the state.

I think what we're looking at is that this vote comes in in a lot of different ways.

You have a number of people who vote by mail.

There, the Democrats, at least registered Democrats, have turned them in more than registered Republicans.

Obviously, we don't know for whom they voted at this point.

Then you had early in-person voting.

That also seems to be significant.

Democrats again registered Democrats seem to be voting more than registered Republicans at this point.

And now we're going to have the actual election day vote and we'll have to see how this all comes together.

The reason -- four years ago, we had a big delay.

We had to wait until the next day to figure out who had actually won.

We don't expect that.

The rules have been changed.

People can start -- the county clerks can start counting these votes from the beginning and then just announce them once the polls close.

Yeah.

And, I mean, of course, we should know, right, Colleen, that even though more Democratic or registered Democratic voters have cast a ballot, it doesn't necessarily mean that we know what the result will be.

But to that end, have Democrats reached this so-called firewall that we have been talking about, the numbers, the margins that they needed to hit compared to 2021 to feel at least cautiously optimistic heading into tonight?

Yeah, so, you know, we were hearing that the Democrats wanted to have this firewall of 250,000 to 300,000 votes.

They hit that 300,000 margin, again, assuming all Democrats vote for Democrat, for Sheryl, and all Democrats, all Republicans vote for Cittarelli.

They hit that 300,000 vote margin with today's numbers, and that is 40,000 more early votes for the Democrat than four years ago for Phil Murphy.

So I think Democrats are feeling comfortable, although not super comfortable, because there is an awful lot of still electioneering going on today.

There are canvases.

There are labor walks.

So there's still a lot of activity today to try to get people to go out and vote.

Are there any outliers, though?

I'm thinking about -- I saw some returns that looked a little weak in places like Camden County, where, of course, you know, we have a number of registered Democrats, and then, obviously, some votes up in Hudson County, where there's a big mayoral race, where it seems like there are a plurality of votes, about 20,000 more.

Ben or Colleen, can either of you speak to that, or any more honed-in areas that you're looking to for some of those margins?

BEN COLLINS, The Washington Post: Well, let me say, the key to victory in a statewide race like this is building up your margins in your base counties.

So, Republican base counties include Monmouth County, Ocean County in particular.

They need to run the margins up really big there in order to offset the Democratic base counties, Essex, Middlesex to some degree, Mercer, Camden, these areas, Hudson County.

So it's all about building up the margins.

When there's more votes, the assumption is there are simply more registered Democrats than registered Republicans in the state.

So the more people vote, the percentage of Democrats should increase.

And so that's why I think you see, based on those early votes, why Democrats are cautiously optimistic heading into this day.

And we will have to see how the day of Election Day voting really comes to pass.

Ben Dwork and Colleen O'Day, they will be with us later tonight.

Thank you both.

Thank you.

Thank you, Bree.

And stay with us for our NJ Decides 2025 election coverage live on NJPBS and streaming on NJSpotlightNews.org and on our NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

We'll have live updates on the hour starting at 8 p.m.

Then join us for full coverage beginning at 10 p.m.

with reporters live at Republican Jack Ciatarelli and Democrat Mikey Sherrill's campaign headquarters, along with key race updates from around the state and analysis from our in-studio panel.

We'll have all the results you need on our website all night and right here on NJPBS.

For now, I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

For the entire team at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here for NJ Decides 2025.

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