Despite a packed field of candidates on Primary Election Day 2025 in New Jersey, it didn't take long for the winners to emerge: U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (left) and former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (right). Each won their party's nomination and will compete in November to fill the seat that will be vacated by two-term Gov. Phil Murphy.

Democrats will choose a nominee for New Jersey governor from among six prominent candidates, including two big-city mayors, two members of Congress and two union leaders. With a redesigned ballot intended to give all candidates a fair shot, it is the first race in decades that was not largely predetermined by local party leaders.

Mikie Sherrill won 15 of New Jersey's 21 counties in the crowded primary for governor, building a coalition in the crowded race that stretched from North Jersey to Cape May. How did she do it?