Central Jersey Democrats Turn Out in Big Numbers for Sherrill
Sherrill posted historic margins across the region, even flipping some Republican strongholds.
November 5, 2025
Democrats across Central Jersey turned out in force for gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, expanding their margins across nearly every county and delivering one of the party’s strongest statewide performances in recent memory.
Early results show the congresswoman not only holding Democratic strongholds but also making deep gains in areas that typically favor Republicans.
Key to Sherrill’s victory were female and minority voters.
Jean Sinzdak, associate director of Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, said exit polls showed Sherrill leading among women by roughly 13 points, 62 percent to 49 percent.
“This should put to rest that question once and for all about women’s electability, particularly for executive office,” Sinzdak said.
She also highlighted former Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger’s decisive win in Virginia’s race for governor.
Turnout across Central Jersey surged to levels usually seen in midterm elections, despite this being an off-year race.
Mercer and Monmouth Counties each reported turnout near 55 percent. Somerset and Ocean came in around 52 percent, Middlesex just under 50 percent, and Union at 46 percent.
Sinzdak compared Democratic gains across New Jersey to those seen during the 2018 Blue Wave, when Democrats flipped dozens of seats in Congress during the first Trump administration.
Sherrill made President Trump’s economic policies a key part of her campaign message, but Sinzdak said Sherrill’s appeal rested on her ability to unite different groups inside her party.
“It has to be more than just anti-Trump,” she explained. “She’s got moderates and progressives backing her. A different candidate might not have been able to walk that line.”
For grassroots activists, the relief is palpable.
“Incredibly relieved. We were worried it was maybe not going to go this way,” said Lisa Vandever, co-founder of Indivisible Rahway, a progressive group that organized local rallies during the race. She said she was also pleased to see Sherrill lift Democrats down the ballot.
Mikie Sherrill met with supporters at the Rahway home of Mayor Raymond Giacobbe, highlighting her campaign’s focus on community and civic engagement.
This is the third-straight win for Democrats in New Jersey’s gubernatorial elections.
In 2021, Governor Phil Murphy narrowly defeated Jack Ciattarelli by three points statewide, with Central Jersey providing much of his winning margin. Four years later, Sherrill outperformed Murphy’s results in every major Central Jersey county, often by double digits.
In Middlesex County, Sherrill led Ciattarelli by more than 64,000 votes, nearly double Murphy’s 2021 advantage. Union County saw a similar surge. In Mercer County, Sherrill’s margin grew by nearly 20,000 votes over Murphy’s 2021 performance, while Somerset County continued its steady suburban shift, delivering one of the widest Democratic advantages in two decades.
The most striking results came from Monmouth and Ocean Counties, long considered Republican territory. In 2021, Ciattarelli carried Monmouth by more than 44,000 votes and Ocean by 77,000. This year, early returns showed Sherrill leading in both counties, with a swing of more than 100,000 votes in Ocean County alone. That represents one of the largest single-election reversals in the region’s modern history.
The 2025 election now stands as a turning point for Central Jersey’s political landscape. Democrats not only held their ground but deepened their support in places once considered out of reach. As mail-in and provisional ballots continue to be counted, early data suggest that this year’s surge in turnout and Democratic energy could reshape the region’s political map well into 2026.