With early voting now open for the New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial primary, one candidate is honing in on a simple message: electability matters.
The crowded field of six Democratic contenders reflects a party still coming to terms with losses up and down the ballot last year. All are angling for a path forward in a general election that’s expected to be competitive, even in a reliably blue state. New Jersey hasn’t elected three consecutive Democratic Governors in over 60 years.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who has cast himself as a party outsider, closed a weekend campaign stop by asking the crowd how many were thinking about electability. Most hands went up.
It’s a message he has repeated again and again on the trail: not every Democratic candidate can beat Republican frontrunner Jack Ciattarelli in November.
The Democratic primary on Tuesday marks one of the first statewide tests since former President Donald Trump gained ground in blue states like New Jersey in 2024. While President Biden won the state in 2020 by 16 points, Vice President Kamala Harris’ margin narrowed to just 6 points last year. Similarly, Phil Murphy won reelection in 2021 by less than 100,000 votes.
Steven Fulop’s Campaign Looks To Shake Things Up
Steven Fulop has served as the Mayor of Jersey City since 2013. The Former U.S. Marine announced his Governor candidacy back in 2023, making him the first Democrat to throw their hat in the ring.
His leadership has seen NJ’s second-largest city grow over the last 12 years. Jersey City has out-paced New York City on housing built per capita in that time, which could matter to New Jersey residents facing a housing crisis. Fulop has also overseen a growing cityscape and major transit improvements during his tenure.
When it comes to running the state at large, his plans extend beyond housing and transit. Fulop has positioned himself, along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, as a party outsider in the race. If you attend one of his meet and greets, which he has held dozens of across the entire state, you will hear one phrase repeated: “The Machine.”
From the get go, Fulop has assured NJ residents that he exists outside of what he refers to as the “NJ Democratic Machine,” insisting that New Jersey party bosses are clamoring for Mikie Sherill, Steve Sweeney or Josh Gottheimer to be the party’s nominee.
“It’s going to be a test on June 10 whether they want a candidate that is a traditional party establishment, vanilla candidate, or do they want change and reform,” he told ABC 7 in an interview.
In addition to his own campaign, Fulop has his eye on remaking the entire NJ Democratic party. For this race, he has set up a slate of Assembly candidates statewide that could help to deliver an upset. These are fellow outsider candidates who want change in New Jersey.
Fulop did something else out of the ordinary: he announced his Lieutenant Governor pick, South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum, weeks ago. Traditionally, candidates wait until after the primary to pick their running mate. In an Ask Me Anything on Reddit, he explained his reasoning. “I believe residents should know what an admin will look like BEFORE they vote in the primary. Most other states do it this way as well and Sheena is amazing. So multiple reasons,” he wrote to one commenter.
Social media outreach and frequent meet and greets show a commitment to transparency that is often lost in politics. Fulop’s policy page on his website is lengthy. For example, his housing policy includes 16 pages of hyper-detailed information. Whether you agree with every position or not isn’t really the point. The point is that it’s all laid out—there is no guessing involved.
Similarly, he has made clear what he wants to accomplish within the first 100 days if elected.
Sherill has been the frontrunner for most of the election season, but Fulop remains confident that he can deliver an upset. An article titled Anatomy of an Upset explains that the once lopsided race could now potentially be a toss-up.
His set up is simple: where other candidates rely on large staff and party-backed campaigns, Fulop focuses on the ground level. His campaign has no manager or finance director. Instead, two staffers and 21 county-based “mini campaigns” make up the operation. Around 1,500 volunteers are currently active across every county in New Jersey campaigning for Fulop and his assembly candidates.
Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Fulop in May—a surprise to many who expected the Philly mag to back the only South Jersey candidate in the race, Steve Sweeney.
In many ways, Steven Fulop’s Gubernatorial campaign is a test: do Democratic voters want something different in New Jersey?
Fulop, and his supporters, seem to think the answer is an obvious yes.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
