The New Jersey gubernatorial primaries are in one week! After eight years and two terms of Phil Murphy, New Jersey will elect a new leader to lead us this coming November. 

Phil Murphy is term-limited and will thus not be able to run again. Here are the following candidates on the democratic side: 

• Mikie Sherrill, who is the frontrunner, is a current United States representative and is a pragmatic moderate with military and political experience. She served in the United States Navy as a helicopter pilot and attended Georgetown. 
• Josh Gottheimer is also a United States representative and is known for his bipartisanship 
• Ras Baraka is the Mayor of Newark and has garnered serious attention for his activism, including participating outside an ICE facility 
• Steven Fulop is the Mayor of Jersey City and has been in the race the longest.  He is seen as a top contender and an outsider to the political machine. 
• Sean Spiller is the head of the New Jersey Education Association and is relying on support from schoolteachers to win the race 
•  Stephen Sweeney, a popular politician in South Jersey and former president of the NJ senate, offers his experience with the legislative process to win the primary. 

The gubernatorial primary for the democrats is showing signs through polling of being a Fulop vs Sherril race. Both campaigns have spent an extensive amount of running attacks on each other. The major themes of these attacks are framing each other as corrupt or “cozying” up to the Trump administration.

The Republican contest for the spot on the ballot in November is as follows: 

• Jack Ciatterli: A former state senator who narrowly lost in 2021 against Murphy is running again and has been endorsed by Trump. He is focused on issues like taxes, crime, and immigration 
• Bill Spadea: A conservative radio host and vocal supporter of the president 
• John Bramnick: A moderate state senator and critic of the president, emphasizing civility and bipartisanship 

The Republican race will undoubtedly be a race between Ciaterelli and Spadea, and polls indicate such a claim.

 Overall, I predict that Sherrill will win on the democratic side and Ciaterelli will claim victory in the republican field.  A Sherrill vs Ciatterelli race would be competitive and thrilling.