Your handy breakdown of the state, county, and local races for the November 7 elections.
By Matt Skoufalos
Not since Jon Corzine and Doug Forrester squared off in the 2005 gubernatorial election have New Jersey voters had the choice among two non-incumbent candidates for governor.
There are no national seats up for grabs until next year’s midterm elections, which means that the biggest questions for voters on November 7 all revolve around local, county, and state offices.
In addition to selecting a new governor, New Jersey voters will also decide a pair of ballot referenda and elect their state senators, assembly members, local government, and school board officials.
Gubernatorial Race
On Tuesday, voters will elect a replacement for the outgoing Chris Christie from among seven balloted candidates.
NJ 2017 Gubernatorial Candidates. From left, descending: Phil Murphy, Kim Guadagno, Pete Rohrman, Matt Riccardi, Gina Genovese, Seth Kaper-Dale, and Vincent Ross.
- Democrat Phil Murphy of Middletown Township, a retired Goldman-Sachs executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany.
- Republican Kim Guadagno of Monmouth Beach, Christie’s lieutenant governor and a former New Jersey assistant attorney general.
- Libertarian Pete Rohrman of Carlstadt, an operations director for an Internet service provider and former U.S. Marine.
- Constitution Party candidate Matthew Ricciardi of Union City, a former U.S. Marine and church teacher.
- Running under the slogan Reduce Property Taxes, Gina Genovese, a business owner from Millington and executive director of Courage to Connect NJ (Full disclosure: Courage to Connect NJ is also a partner in our upcoming collaborative reporting project on municipal mergers).
- Green Party candidate Seth Kaper-Dale, a Protestant pastor from Highland Park and creator of the RHCP-Affordable Housing Corporation.
- We the People candidate Vincent Ross, an Edison resident who works for the Newark Public School system.
State Senate Race
Fifth and Sixth District Senate Candidates. From left: Jim Beach, Robert Shapiro, Nilsa Cruz-Perez, Keith A. Walker, and Mohammad Kabir.
In the Sixth Legislative District, Democratic incumbent Jim Beach faces Republican challenger Robert Shapiro.
In the Fifth Legislative District, Democrat Nilsa Cruz-Perez, who in 2014 was appointed to fill the state senate seat vacated by U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross, faces Republican Keith A. Walker and Mohammad Kabir of Bellmawr, who is running under the slogan “Challenge Promise Fix.”
State Assembly Race
Fifth Legislative District Assembly Candidates. From left: Pat Egan Jones, Kevin Ehret, Arthur Barclay, Teresa Gordon.
In the Fifth Legislative District, incumbent Democrats Patricia Egan Jones and Arthur Barclay face Republican challengers Kevin Ehret and Teresa Gordon.
Sixth District Assembly Candidates. Clockwise, from left: Pamela Lampitt, Winston Extavour, Lou Greenwald, David C. Moy.
In the Sixth Legislative District, incumbent Democrats Pamela Lampitt and Louis Greenwald face Republican challengers Winston Extavour and David C. Moy and Monica Sohler of the American Solidarity Party.
Camden County Freeholder Race
2017 Camden County Freeholder Candidates. From left: Lou Cappelli, Keith Cybulski, Jonathan Young, and Nicole Nance.
Two seats are up for grabs on the Camden County freeholder board, with incumbents Lou Cappelli and Jonathan Young on the Democratic ticket against Republican hopefuls Keith Cybulski and Nicole Nance.
Local Races
- In Cherry Hill, incumbent Democratic council members David Fleisher, Carole Roskoph, Sangeeta Doshi, and Carolyn Jacobs vie with Republicans Andrew Behrend, John Papeika, Scott Cohen, and Joseph Rodi, Jr. for four seats on the township council.
- Haddon Heights Democrats Stephanie Madden and Christopher Mrozinski will face incumbent Republican Council President Kathy Lange and retired Haddon Heights Police Chief Richard Kinkler.
- Incumbent Merchantville Democratic Council President Andrew McLoone and council member Katherine Swann face no opposition on the ballot.
- It’s the same story in Oaklyn, where incumbent Democratic council members Dot Valianti and Chuck Lehman will not face any Republican challengers on the local ballot this fall.
- Incumbent Pennsauken Mayor Betsy McBride and fellow council member Jack Killion, both Democrats, face Republican challenger Vincent Squire and independent William Finnegan, running under the slogan, “The Resident’s Candidate,” for two spots on the borough council.
School Board Races
For detailed information on each of the local board of education races in our coverage area, click on a town name for our candidate biographies.
- Audubon
- Cherry Hill
- Collingswood
- Haddonfield
- Haddon Heights
- Haddon Township
- Merchantville
- Oaklyn
- Pennsauken
Ballot Questions
New Jersey voters will also weigh in on a pair of ballot questions Tuesday.
The first, the “New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act” would borrow $125 million to provide grants “to build, equip, and expand public libraries to increase capacity and serve the public.” Read our coverage of the library bond issue here.
The second question would amend the state constitution to dedicate all money collected from environmental contamination cases to “repair, restore, replace, or preserve the State’s natural resources” or to paying costs incurred by the state in pursuing environmental cases. Read an interpretation of the issue by the League of Women Voters here.
Voter Information
Scroll down for links to your local sample ballot and a list of polling places, which are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. statewide on Tuesday, November 7.
- Not sure which is your polling place? Use this finder to search by address.
- Not sure if you’re registered to vote? This tool can help you determine if you’re ready to head to the booth.
- If there is a polling place problem, or you have any questions, call the Board of Elections at 856-401-8683.
- Are you a first-time voter? Here’s a video from the League of Women voters about what to expect.
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