New Jersey
Is Gen Z trending more Republican in New Jersey? What polls show
A tight race faces Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli in their bids to become New Jersey governor next week, according to polls.
Sherrill holds a lead among young voters, a traditional Democratic group that shifted rightward in last year’s presidential race, recent surveys suggest.
Newsweek reached out to the Ciattarelli and Sherrill campaigns for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The New Jersey gubernatorial race is a key bellwether for the mood of the electorate ahead of the 2026 midterms, when Democrats will be hoping to flip seats across the country in a 2018-style “blue wave.”
The election will be a test for Democrats’ efforts to win back support where President Donald Trump gained ground in last year’s presidential race. Gen Z is one group that swung toward Trump last year. They backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by about 11 points last year, a much tighter margin than former President Joe Biden’s 24-point margin among Gen Z four years earlier.
Sherrill will be seeking to win back those voters in New Jersey, a state that also drifted toward competitiveness. It backed Harris by only about six points, down from Biden’s 16-point victory in the Garden State in 2020.
What to Know
Polling suggests that Sherrill holds a slight—but not insurmountable—lead over Ciattarelli in the final days of the campaign. The data points to a closer race than in 2021, when Ciattarelli nearly defeated incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, overperforming his polling numbers.
Sherrill is also winning over Gen Z voters, according to polls.
A Fox News poll showed 60 percent of voters under 30 are backing Sherrill, while only 33 percent are voting for Ciattarelli. Two percent said they’d vote for someone else, and five percent of the 1,002 voters surveyed from October 10 to October 14 said they were unsure.
A co/efficient poll similarly found the 53-year-old former federal prosecutor with a lead among Gen Z voters. Sherrill led voters between the ages of 18 and 34 by 26 points (57 percent to 31 percent). It polled 995 likely voters from October 23 to October 27, 2025 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.27 percentage points.
An Emerson College poll also showed Sherrill leading voters between the ages of 18 and 29 by 38 points (56 points to 18 points), though that poll notably found a higher percentage were still undecided (15 percent) or voting for someone else (11 percent). It surveyed 935 likely voters from September 22 to September 23 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for all voters.
A Rutgers University poll showed a more competitive race to win over Gen Z voters. In that survey, Sherrill led by only six points (49 percent to 43 percent). It surveyed 795 likely voters from October 3 to October 17 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
Joseph Patten, Professor of Political Science at Monmouth University, told Newsweek that Gen Z is a critical voting bloc for Democrats.
“When young people are energized and mobilized, it typically fares well for Democratic candidates. When they’re not, when they’re down in the dumps, that’s typically a bad sign for Democratic candidates,” he said. “So we’ll see where they are in 2025.”
He pointed to the 2020 election, when Biden defeated Trump, as an example of Gen Z proving to be one of the most important groups who decided the outcome of the election. Their rightward shift was largely due to a drop off in voting numbers from 2020 to 2024, he said.
In 2020, Gen Z turnout in New Jersey was about 67 percent. In 2024, that number was 54 percent—still higher than the national average of 47 percent, Patten said. The youth vote in New Jersey also skews more diverse, as about 56 percent of students in New Jersey schools are non-white, he said.
There’s also a notable gender gap between young men and young women, he said.
“Young women are much more likely to be liberal, and young men are more inclined to be more conservative,” he said. “There’s also a gender gap in turnout. Young women vote by nine percentage points higher than young men.”
Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, told Newsweek that the election is a “departure from last year,” when Gen Z voters shifted to Trump.
“Those voters are still out there. They’re still partisan. There’s no question about that. But as a bloc, as a distinct voting group or as a generation, I think there is a reappraisal,” he said. “Have they gotten what they bargained for? Is the federal government that we’ve gotten so far what our youngest voters voted for?”
On the Republican side, the assassination of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk has been a “rallying point” for young voters, he said. There is a sense of “let’s do thus for Charlie” that could benefit the Ciattarelli campaign with more partisan voters. That will not necessarily appeal to those young voters who are less engaged and partisan, he said.
Democrats don’t have that same “inflection,” but the Sherrill campaign has also been working to engage younger supporters by having them write postcards or make phone calls, he said.
There is unlikely to be “the same level of engagement” in the race as a presidential contest, he said. There are certainly younger voters who are engaged—but it is unlikely to be as widespread, he added.
How Does Gen Z Polling Compare to 2021?
There were no exit polls conducted in New Jersey for the last governor’s race in 2021. In that race, Murphy won by just over three percentage points (51 percent to 48 percent), but it’s unclear exactly what percentage of Gen Z voters he ended up winning.
But an Emerson College poll from October 2021 showed that Murphy was on track to win Gen Z by nearly 16 points (58 percent to 42 percent). Meanwhile, a Monmouth University poll, which ended up overestimating Murphy’s support by a larger margin, found that he was on track to win Gen Z voters by 25 points (56 percent to 31 percent).
Whether or not polling overestimates Sherrill’s support as it did for Murphy in the last gubernatorial race is a key question facing pollsters ahead of Election Day. Many Republicans believe the support for 63-year-old businessman Ciattarelli, who missed out in the previous gubernatorial race, has been undercounted in polls.
Historically, younger voters do turn out at lower rates than older voters, and it’s yet to be seen which candidate does a better job at mobilizing their youngest supporters before next week’s election.
What People Are Saying
Sherrill wrote Monday on X: “Donald Trump’s global extortion racket is lining his pockets and costing New Jerseyans more at the register. Not on my watch—as governor, I’m going to work with our Attorney General to defend New Jerseyans against Washington’s reckless tariffs.”
Ciattarelli wrote Monday on X: “This campaign is about change. It’s about restoring hope for New Jersey’s future. Hope for families struggling to afford to stay here, seniors struggling to retire here. Hope for safer communities, better schools, and a government that finally puts you first.”
What Happens Next
Early voting has been underway, and Election Day is set for November 4. Forecasters give Sherrill an advantage—both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the race as Leans Democratic.
New Jersey
Monmouth County hospital among World’s Best Hospitals for 2026
Ranney School student plays music for Monmouth Medical Center patients
Ava Silva Costa, a sophomore at the Ranney School in Tinton Falls, has started Arturo Healing Hearts, bringing her violin music to area hospitals.
Hospitals are an important need in the world.
And finding a facility with high-quality medical care that’s reliable is also important.
Newsweek, the premier news magazine and website, has partnered with Statista to release a dependable guidance list of the World’s Best Hospitals – United States for 2026.
In it’s eight year, these ranking highlights the leading hospitals around the globe so readers can find information tailored to their needs and location the report stated.
Each hospital was reviewed and given a score based on four data sources: recommendations from medical experts; hospital quality metrics, existing patient experience data and Statista’s Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Implementation Survey.
In typical New Jersey fashion, the Garden State makes the list among the 2,500 hospitals that were evaluated this year.
Nine hospitals from the Garden State made the list with one representing Monmouth County. With an overall score of 61.79% and the Infection Prevention Award, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch made the top 9 list for roster in World’s Best Hospitals 2026 from Newsweek.
World’s Best Hospitals 2026 in New Jersey
- No. 53: Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center in Morristown; overall score: 70.74%
- No. 56: Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack; overall score: 70.07%
- No. 134: The Valley Hospital in Paramus; overall score: 65.36%
- No. 186: Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center in Summit; overall score: 64.42%
- No. 254: Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood; overall score: 63.13%
- No. 320: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick; overall score: 62.26%
- No. 364: Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark; overall score: 61.82%
- No. 366: Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro; overall score: 61.80%
- No. 367: Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch; overall score: 61.79%
New Jersey
Newly released body cam footage shows response to massive industrial explosion in Gloucester County
LOGAN TWP., N.J. (WPVI) — Newly released body camera footage gives us a first look at the heroic actions of first responders on the scene of a massive industrial explosion in Gloucester County earlier this month.
The explosion happened at an industrial facility in Logan Township, New Jersey, on March 4 and left several workers injured.
The initial blast could be heard miles away.
Now, we are getting a look at the frantic rush to help in the moments after it happened.
New details released after massive explosion at Logan Twp., New Jersey factory
In the footage, you can hear the police officers frantically trying to locate people who were injured by the blast at Savita Naturals.
Large propane tanks burned in the background as rescuers tried to account for any survivors.
At one point, first responders are seen running inside the building to look for people. You can see damaged walls and debris everywhere.
Four people were injured in the blast, with one of them being thrown off the roof and into the woods near the water tower.
Amazingly, the worker was found alive by a fence. He was badly burned, but able to talk.
First responders had to load him in a truck and get him to the road, where a Logan Township officer tried to keep him calm as they waited for an ambulance.
Body cam video shows an officer calling the man’s wife to let her know he was alive.
That officer stayed by his side until he was finally loaded into a police car and rushed to the hospital.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
New Jersey
How hunters are helping to feed those in need throughout New Jersey
How hunters in NJ are helping feed the hungry, food pantries
See how hunters in New Jersey are working with food pantries to help feed the hungry in the state.
For more than 25 years, hunters around the Garden State have been making a difference by working with Hunters Helping the Hungry, a nonprofit organization that raises money and coordinates the efforts of hunters, butchers, and food banks throughout New Jersey to help put food on the table for those in need.
The program began during the 1997/1998 hunting season, a result of the efforts of three Hunterdon County hunters along with help from a butcher named John Person and Kathy Rummel, the director at the time of Norwescap.
“We started out 25 years ago just as hunters, you know, wanting to go out and get some extra deer. New Jersey had very liberal deer quotas and bag limits. You could get unlimited does,” said Lester Giese, one of the founders of Hunters Helping the Hungry. “I was on a trip, and I was going through West Virginia, and I saw at one of the gas stations a brochure for Hunters Helping the Hungry. I picked up the brochure and looked at it and said, ‘What a great idea.’ When I got back, as it turned out, the state legislature just recently passed a law to allow venison donations.”
Five deer were donated during that first season, according to Giese. Today, the organization averages about 1,000 donations per year, which amounts to between 23,000 and 28,000 pounds of venison, he said.
Overall, since the program’s inception, Hunters Helping the Hungry has facilitated the donation of nearly 2.5 million servings of venison.
While the program originally started as a way to assist hunters who could harvest more deer than they could use, the organization’s mission has expanded. According to its website, Hunters Helping the Hungry currently aims to:
- Continue paying butchering costs for hunters who are able to take more deer than they can use;
- Support municipal and private property owners that pay for the butchering process directly while they attempt to reduce the deer population on their property;
- And set aside a portion of grants from the state Department of Agriculture to support and pay for the butchering of deer taken by farmers and their agents during depredation hunts.
These efforts ultimately help New Jersey’s food bank system and provide a source of protein to those in need, while also keeping the state’s deer herd in check
“So, kind of a nutshell, we started out just a small group of us with a small focus,” Giese said. “And now we’re trying to do a lot of things for a lot of people.”
The process: From forest to food pantry
In New Jersey the deer hunting season runs from the second week of September through the second week of February. According to Hunters Helping the Hungry board member Mark Charbonneau, this is one of the longest hunting seasons in the United States.
Hunters who want to make a donation bring their legally harvested deer to one of the state-inspected butchers that partner with the organization. Processing fees are paid to the butcher by Hunters Helping the Hungry from a fund consisting of donations and grants.
The butcher processes the deer at no cost to the hunter and gives it to one of the participating food banks, such as Norwescap, which partners with pantries in Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties.
Venison issued to the food banks is distributed to over 400 charities around the state.
Although New Jersey’s deer hunting season starts in the fall, Charbonneau, a board member of about 20 years and a hunter of about 40, says that the process starts well beforehand.
“The process actually starts before hunting season starts. What I mean by that is hunters will start scouting certain locations to be able to know where deer are, to be able to prepare to harvest them legally and as ethically and quickly as possible,” said Charbonneau, adding that less than 2% of the New Jersey population are deer hunters.
Charbonneau continued, “So when you start that process of scouting areas, setting up your locations, then going afield, then harvesting your game, then removing your game from the field, then field dressing it properly, then bringing it to a butcher, then making that donation, there’s a lot of steps involved and there’s a lot of time involved.”
JB Person, an Hunters Helping the Hungry board member and the owner of GameButcher in Lebanon, is one of several participating butchers that process the donated deer.
“What the hunters do is come here, they have to fill out some paperwork, and along with the paperwork we request they also fill out a donation slip. They donate the whole deer,” Person said. “What we do is skin it and process it into various cuts – roast, steak, chops, and ground meat. Everything is cut, wrapped, and frozen and then when we have a bunch ready to go, I get in touch with Norwescap and then they come and pick it up.”
Game Butchers averages between 150 and 200 donated deer per year, according to Person, who added that Hunters Helping the hungry is “in desperate need of butchers.”
How to donate deer to Hunters Helping the Hungry
Hunters looking to make a donation can take their legally harvested deer to any of the participating butchers listed on the Hunters Helping the Hungry website.
Once the required forms have been filled out, the butcher will process the deer. The food bank will then pick up the processed deer from the butcher and distribute the frozen venison to various food pantries, emergency shelters, churches, etc.
If the dressed weight of the deer is more than 50 pounds, Hunters Helping the Hungry will pay the entire processing fee, according to the organization’s website. If the dressed weight of the deer is less than 50 pounds, the hunter will be required to pay the first $50 of the processing fee.
Throughout the 2025/2026 hunting season, a total of 802 deer were donated to Hunters Helping the Hungry. This amounts to 26,846 pounds of venison which yields 107,384 servings.
“The number one thing that people need to know about our organization is that the hunters of the great state of New Jersey are the reason for our success,” Charbonneau said. “The hunters have taken it upon themselves in the great state of New Jersey to go afield every year and harvest game to help those not as fortunate as most.”
For additional information about Hunters Helping the Hungry and how you can donate and/or get involved as a hunter or a butcher, visit the organization’s website at https://www.huntershelpingthehungry.org/.
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