It’s almost over.
The expensive and divisive race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli to become New Jersey’s new governor is finally coming to a close on Tuesday, after months of tired mud-slinging and accusations and deceptively edited advertisements.
Sherrill, a congresswoman and former Naval helicopter pilot, is facing Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and business owner in a nationally watched, relatively tight race to take over for term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
New Jersey will likely be governed differently depending on who succeeds Murphy. Both candidates have dramatically different visions of the Garden State’s future.
Here’s where they stand and differ on key topics, from education to immigration.
TAXES
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation, with the average bill coming in at $10,095.
Sherrill said she supports ANCHOR and Stay NJ, two of the state’s largest property-tax relief programs. She’s proposed merging municipal services and reducing overpayments to the State Health Benefits Plan.
Sherrill also supports lowering income taxes by expanding the state Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. She’d also focus on closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and increasing resources for the state’s Business Action Center.
Ciattarelli has proposed capping taxes to a percentage of assessed home value, while expanding the senior property tax freeze, according to his website.
He called for prohibiting property tax increases on home improvements and making health insurance premiums and student loan interest tax-deductible. His tax plan calls for reducing the state’s corporate business tax by 1% per year for five years.
Ciattarelli has proposed cutting income taxes for all taxpayers. He also supports freezing property taxes for life at a certain age.
“Freeze your property taxes for life once you hit age 70,” he said during a debate.
Want to know more about where they stand? Check out our election chat:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Ciattarelli has proposed overhauling the state’s current — and hotly debated — affordable housing laws, as well as the Mt. Laurel doctrine, the landmark affordable housing case.
He said he supports a regional approach to affordable housing, focusing on building it in transit hubs and urban centers. (Repealing current affordable housing laws would require the backing of the state Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats.)
Sherrill said she’d increase access to loans and tax credits to provide incentives for the development of new housing, strengthen first-time homebuyer assistance programs and oppose any budget cuts to the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
She also said she’d work to convert underused office parks, strip malls and industrial properties into homes, transit-oriented development and mixed-use projects.
ENERGY RATES
New Jersey’s energy rates have skyrocketed in recent months, becoming a major issue in this race.
Sherrill has pledged to freeze electricity rates for one year by declaring a state of emergency. She has also expressed interest in investigating the state’s grid operator, PJM, for its role in the utility price increases — a position that aligns with a recently passed law pushed by Democrats.
And she plans to invest in solar and nuclear energy.
“We need to produce here in our state because the market has been screwed up PJM,” Sherrill said.
Ciattarelli said he’d withdraw New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state agreement aimed at capping carbon emissions. He’s also criticized the state Board of Public Utilities and has pledged to replace all its members if elected.
Ciattarelli supports nuclear and solar energy but is against wind farms.
See what the candidates told us about issues in separate interviews:
EDUCATION
Ciattarelli supports Republican-led efforts to revise the state’s school funding formula, arguing that districts in GOP-leaning areas receive too little aid.
“We need a new school funding formula,” he said. “A more equitable distribution of state aid to our schools will help lower the property tax.”
Ciattarelli also plans to expand charter schools.
Sherrill also said she will revamp the state’s school funding formula, but did not provide specifics on how she would do so.
“I will modernize and stabilize the formula to better reflect what an education should look like today, assist schools in meeting the latest standards and best practices, and help students overcome challenges like learning loss and mental health,” she said.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration has a proposal to expand school voucher programs through tax credits, which would require states to opt in. Sherrill has said she would reject the plan, while Ciattarelli has indicated he supports it.
New Jersey does not have a formal school voucher program, but it does operate the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which allows parents to send their children to schools outside their home district. The program has come under criticism from Republicans who say its funding levels do not match the high demand from parents.
Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli support expanding the program.
As far as possible Trump administration cuts to education, Sherrill said she would sue to claw back federal funding. Ciattarelli, who has been endorsed by Trump, has not said how he would deal with federal cuts.
IMMIGRATION
Murphy’s administration has limited how much local authorities can cooperate with federal ICE agents in detaining undocumented immigrants through the “Immigrant Trust Directive.” Some officials generally call this the state’s “sanctuary” policy.
Ciattarelli has said he would end the directive on his first day in office, arguing it “only encourages illegal immigration and restricts our law enforcement in different ways. … The goal is to keep our communities safe.”
He also appeared to distance himself from Trump’s strong stance on immigration when he said undocumented immigrants should have a “pathway to recognition.” Asked what that means, Ciattarelli said that would include giving them a government-issued ID and a “real” Social Security number.
Sherrill has stopped short of saying she’d write the directive into law, arguing it wouldn’t hold up in court. But she hasn’t said directly whether or not she’d keep the policy. “Violent criminals should be deported, but I also believe in due process,” Sherrill said during a debate. “I’ll follow the law and I’ll follow the Constitution.”
Sherrill said she also wants the state to ban ICE agents from wearing masks.
ABORTION
Ciattarelli, who identifies as pro-choice, supports access to abortions up to the 20th week of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest, or if the health of the mother is at risk. He said parents should be notified when their minor child seeks an abortion.
(Both of these changes would require the backing of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.)
Ciattarelli has also said he would oppose using public funding to pay for abortions. Federal funds are not permitted to be used for abortion services, but New Jersey has long used state money to cover the cost of terminating pregnancies of low-income people on Medicaid.
Ciattarelli also proposed stopping the flow of state cash to support non-abortion services at women’s health clinics.
Sherrill, who also identifies as pro-choice, said she supports enshrining the right to an abortion in New Jersey’s state constitution. (This would require the Legislature to pass a law asking voters to amend the constitution.)
She has also promised to stockpile the abortion pill, mifepristone, which has been a target of conservative lawmakers, judges and activists seeking to reverse its FDA approval.
VACCINES
Ciattarelli said he supports childhood vaccines and has expressed concern that declining immunization rates have weakened herd-immunity protections.
But his website says he “will oppose a one-size-fits-all vaccination schedule, support medical and religious exemptions for vaccines, and create a parental rights ombudsman in state government to give parents more of a voice on key issues, including those seeking a philosophical vaccine exemption.”
He said he would never mandate a vaccine, while speaking at a town hall event.
“Jack has always been supportive of vaccines, but also believes there should be more room for parents to seek medical, religious and philosophical exemptions,” said Chris Russell, his spokesman.
Sherrill said she supports school and child care vaccination schedules and has expressed concern that overall childhood vaccination rates have dipped below 95%.
NJ TRANSIT
The state’s rail and bus agency, NJ Transit is often plagued by funding issues, mass delays, and more.
Ciattarelli proposes putting all of the state’s mass transit systems — including the Turnpike, Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway — “under one roof” by creating the Garden State Transportation Authority.
“That will be a better management structure, better for transparency, better for accountability,” he told NJ Advance Media. “We will decide then more easily what the subsidy has to be from the state government, which is the dedicated revenue source to make the systems whole.”
Sherrill said she wants to re-evaluate NJ Transit’s land to see what money can be made from it to drive funds into the system.
“And that way you’re not constantly looking for taxes or fare hikes,” she told NJ Advance Media.
TRUMP AND THE NATIONAL GUARD
The president has sent troops to some American cities, in what he calls an effort to reduce crime.
Sherrill said she would sue the Trump administration if it attempts to send in the National Guard to a New Jersey city, saying she wants to ensure “people are kept safe.”
Ciattarelli said Trump wouldn’t need to send troops here because as governor he’d work in “partnership” with law enforcement. Ciattarelli also said he’d “welcome any and all assistance.”
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS FOR MINORS
Ciattarelli said he would repeal a statewide education policy that restricts school officials and teachers from notifying parents that their child wants to be identified by another gender. Keeping secrets from parents is “immoral,” he has said.
He vows to repeal the sex ed curriculum in public schools and remake it so its content is “age-appropriate” for elementary, middle school and high school children.
Ciattarelli also opposes gender-affirming care for minors, and has vowed to bar transgender girls from participating in sports with other female students. He would follow the state Law Against Discrimination, which considers LGBTQ people a protected class.
Sherrill has not made transgender rights a focus of her policy positions or her campaign message.
In Congress, she voted against a bill that would bar transgender girls and women from participating in female sports. She also voted against a bill that would require schools to notify parents if their child has identified as another gender.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Liz Rosenberg contributed to this report.
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