New Jersey Democratic primary leaves 66% of voters unheard.
On June 10, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill won the New Jersey Democratic primary for governor with just 34% of the vote. The campaign was marked by toxic personal attacks and fear that voters would “split the vote” between like-minded candidates. Ranked choice voting (RCV) would address these problems – offering voters better choices, less toxic campaigns, and majority winners in New Jersey and beyond.
Six candidates ran for the Democratic nomination, including two members of Congress, the mayors of the state’s two largest cities, a longtime State Senate president, and a union leader. The polls were close throughout the campaign, and voters had to decide whether to choose the candidate they liked most or a candidate with a better chance to win.
Preliminary results of the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary
| Candidate | Share of the vote |
| Mikie Sherrill | 34.0% |
| Ras Baraka | 20.4% |
| Steve Fulop | 15.9% |
| Josh Gottheimer | 11.8% |
| Sean Spiller | 10.7% |
| Steve Sweeney | 7.2% |
*As of 11:00 am ET on June 11
With so many viable Democratic candidates, it was all but inevitable the winner would not secure a majority of the party’s voters. Sherrill defeated her closest opponent convincingly, but may enter the general election in a tougher position; research shows that candidates who win their primary with a minority of votes are 11.3 percentage points less likely to win in competitive general elections than candidates who win their primary with a majority.
Princeton Professor Sam Wang and FairVote’s David Daley shared their take on the New Jersey primary in an op-ed in last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer, saying that if either the Democratic or Republican candidate won their primary with a small share of support, “he or she will have quite a task energizing voters and unifying their party by November.”
(Like the Democrats, New Jersey Republicans had a crowded field, with five candidates seeking the gubernatorial nomination. But unlike Democrats, the Republican field had a clear frontrunner throughout the campaign, who ultimately won with 68% of the vote.)
The problem of plurality winners doesn’t just affect New Jersey; it’s common in single-choice elections all around the United States. For instance, in 2024, 70 plurality winners advanced from the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and statewide primary elections. The number was even higher – 120 plurality winners – in 2022, a midterm year with more retirements and statewide offices up for election.
Additionally, in single-choice elections, candidates often resort to negative campaigning. Throughout the New Jersey primary, candidates frequently attacked their opponents in an attempt to drive down their supporters’ enthusiasm. Sherrill, for example, faced countless attacks from other candidates, who “bashed her wealth, her establishment ties, and past campaign contributions.” She responded with attacks of her own.
Ranked choice voting would ensure the winning candidate earns a majority of the vote. Sherrill may have won in an RCV contest too, as she had a large margin of victory over the 2nd- and 3rd-place candidates. However, RCV would allow her – or any nominee – to go into the general election with a clear majority of primary voters behind them.
RCV also incentivizes candidates to show common ground with fellow candidates, in order to earn voters’ backup choices. For example, in New York City – which has been using RCV for local primaries since 2021– Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Madmani has shown support for fellow candidate Adrienne Adams, even urging voters to donate to her campaign. The cooperation RCV incentivizes can remain after the election, too: Recent research shows that once in office, officials elected with RCV are more likely to work across the aisle.
As FairVote CEO Meredith Sumpter explained in an op-ed and interview with Real Clear Politics, RCV is the nonpartisan solution that can protect choice and majority winners, while putting voters first.
Voter Choice NJ is working to implement RCV throughout New Jersey to ensure we give voters more – and better – choices. Join them today if you live in the Garden State, or find an RCV group wherever you live to bring better elections to your community.
