The Final Vote: Previewing the Elections in the Garden State & the Big Apple

Written By Dereck Alegria

With Election Day approaching, the New Jersey gubernatorial race and the three-way New York City mayoral contest have been heating up with debates, scandals, and new polls.

Pictured Above: Jack Ciattarelli (left), and Mikie Sherrill (right), the respective Republican and Democratic candidates for NJ governor.

The governor's seat is contested between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Sherrill, a four-term U.S. Representative, has centered her campaign around affordability and reducing housing costs. On the other side, Ciattarelli is trying to build off his narrow defeat for the same office in 2021 by focusing on tax and spending reforms.

While New Jersey has voted reliably Democratic for the past decades, the state shifted drastically to the right in the 2024 presidential election. Harris won a mere 51.8% of the vote in 2024, compared to Biden’s 57.3% four years before.

New Jersey has also not shied away from electing a Republican governor in the past, as Chris Christie won by large margins in 2009 and 2013.

Polls have indicated a close race, with Sherrill narrowly winning by 3.3%. Atlas Intel, the most accurate pollster in 2024, released a poll on October 31 showing Sherrill ahead by 1%, meaning a Ciattarelli victory is within the margin of error (±2%).

New York City’s mayoral race appears to be less tight, although an upset is entirely possible.

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani first appeared as a minor candidate but worked his way

Zohran Mamdani, current state assemblyman and candidate for NY's mayoral position.

up with grassroots support and won the Democratic primary in June. He has campaigned on a Democratic-Socialist platform, focusing on affordability by freezing rents, providing free childcare, free buses, and taxing the rich.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic

nomination, now presents himself as an independent candidate focusing on building affordable housing and decreasing crime by funding the police.

Republican Curtis Sliwa has established himself as a unique character, separating himself from President Trump and pushing subway and street safety platforms.

Andrew Cuomo, democratic candidate in NY's 2025 mayoral election.

Polls have shown a two-way race between Mamdani and Cuomo, with Sliwa considerably behind. Many, including President Trump, have urged Sliwa to drop out to increase Cuomo’s chances of winning. However, Sliwa has remained firm in his position to stay in the race.

Mamdani is the favorite to come out on top, as the polling average has him 14 points ahead of Cuomo. However, again, credible pollster Atlas Intel shows him 5 points ahead of Cuomo, just outside the margin of error.

Both the race for the New Jersey governorship and the New York City mayor’s office are set to decide the new leadership for these two seats, each planning to improve their areas by addressing key problems. On the national level, these elections will serve as an indicator of the political climate a year after Trump’s election, offering clues to voter sentiment a year before the crucial 2026 midterms that will determine party control of the Senate and House of Representatives.