As the only gubernatorial races held in the year following a presidential election, the contests have long served as the first major test of voter sentiment toward the party holding the White House. In every race for governor since 1973, one or both states have elected a governor from a party different than that of the sitting president.

The New Jersey governor’s race has emerged as the 2025 election cycle’s most competitive fight as recent polling shows that, with election day under a week out, Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli are in a statistical tie.

The fiery battle between Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill to become New Jersey’s next governor is a dead heat just days before Election Day, according to a new survey from a pollster that was recently ranked as the nation’s most accurate.

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia are casting their ballots for governor as New York City holds its mayoral race.

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia head to the polls Tuesday in the first major statewide elections since Donald Trump returned to the White House, seen as early tests of voter sentiment ahead of the 2026 midterms.