New Jersey
New Jersey election 2025: What voters need to know about the 1st District Assembly race
Democrat Carolyn Rush
Carolyn Rush grew up in Medford and graduated from Shawnee High School. She earned her degree from Montclair State University and has owned a home in Sea Isle City for 25 years, living there full-time for the past decade.
Rush is a retired engineer. Early in her career, she worked in the intelligent transportation industry on the initial implementation of E-ZPass in New Jersey and other states. She later spent nearly 20 years with Lockheed Martin, where she worked on the Aegis defense system.
Rush said she entered politics out of frustration with partisanship and gridlock. She has made two unsuccessful bids for Congress in the 2nd District Democratic primaries, in 2022 and 2024. She said those campaigns gave her insight into the challenges of fundraising and campaigning, and she chose to run for the Assembly to bring her experience to Trenton.
What are Carolyn Rush’s priorities?
Rush said her top priority is protecting the rights of New Jersey residents against what she views as federal government overreach. That includes reproductive rights, LGBTQ protections, environmental safeguards and gun safety laws.
Rush said she supports expanding access to care and fully funding New Jersey’s Reproductive Freedom Act. She said that New Jersey ranks among the lowest states for gun violence and said she will work to maintain strong background check and safe-storage laws.
Rush said she would push for health care reform in New Jersey. She listed affordable housing as another major priority, saying she wants stronger enforcement of the state’s Mount Laurel doctrine, which requires municipalities to provide low-cost housing. She said she would also support consolidation of municipalities and school districts to reduce overhead and slow the rise of property taxes.
She highlighted beach erosion, flood preparedness and climate resiliency as urgent issues for shore towns. She said she supports resiliency planning but wants a more flexible approach to state regulations, reassessed every 10 years rather than projecting 75 years ahead. She also called for more investment in public transportation, especially in Cumberland County, to connect residents with jobs and attract businesses.
Why is Carolyn Rush running?
Rush said she wants to be a pragmatic voice in Trenton who can bring people together and find solutions.
“I am a problem solver. I’m pragmatic. I’m not someone who will just go along to get along,” she said. “If you’re looking for someone who will fight for the people of the district, that’s me. At the same time, I know how to guide structured conversations, find common ground and reach compromise. That’s where my strengths lie.”
Democrat Carol Sabo
Carol Sabo is the mayor of West Cape May, where she has served in local government since 2013, and as mayor since 2017.
She began her career in social work, spending more than 15 years with the state Division of Youth and Family Services in child protective services before working with children with developmental disabilities. She later worked in public education until her retirement in 2019.
Sabo holds degrees from Gettysburg College and Rutgers University. As mayor, she has emphasized affordability, labor rights, environmental protection and sustainable development. She partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable homes in the borough and has worked to strengthen infrastructure and community services for year-round residents.
What are Carol Sabo’s priorities?
Sabo said her top priorities would be health care, education and the environment.
She supports affordable access to health care and reproductive care as well as preserving reproductive freedoms, adding that medical decisions should remain between patients and doctors. On education, she said she would work to ensure full state funding and fair distribution across districts.
She has also called for a “balanced approach” to energy production that includes wind, solar, natural gas and clean nuclear power, while keeping costs affordable. She said climate change is a reality that New Jersey must address through stronger building codes and shoreline development policies.
Sabo said affordability and housing stability remain pressing issues for Cape May County, where longtime residents are being priced out by rising property values and the growth of short-term rentals.
“We need a balance of affordable housing alongside other types of housing,” she said.
She also pointed to the need for more resources in shore towns, including grocery stores, gas stations and repair shops to sustain year-round residents beyond the tourism season.
Why is Carol Sabo running?
Sabo said she wants to bring her experience as a social worker and mayor to Trenton.
“I’m a problem solver and a collaborator,” she said. “I don’t have an agenda other than doing what’s best for residents and taxpayers. I listen, I work across the aisle and I try to find reasonable solutions that people can live with.”
From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
In New Jersey, Mercer County officials have enacted new policies limiting the ability of federal immigration agents to access and use county property to conduct immigration enforcement operations.
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson issued an executive order and the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution Friday that bans U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol from using any nonpublic area on county property to enforce immigration law, unless they have obtained a judicial warrant or judicial order.
“From Minneapolis to Delaney Hall, ICE has repeatedly shown a total disregard for the law and for the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens alike,” Benson said in a statement. “We respect the Federal Government’s authority to enforce immigration law, but we will not allow them to use County properties to harass our families.”
“With this resolution, we’re sending a clear message that everyone in our community can safely interact with County government, and access County services, without fear,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Terrance Stokes in a statement. “ICE’s actions threaten the fabric of our community, and we will take whatever steps we can, within the bounds of the law, to protect our residents.”
New Jersey and New York City commuters are facing extensive delays in and out of New York Penn Station Friday, with intensifying ripple effects, after an Amtrak work train car on one of the hub’s tracks caught fire.
The FDNY says it was called to the Midtown scene on 31st Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, around 1:30 a.m. Nearly 100 personnel responded. Five civilians were evaluated at the scene by EMS, officials say.
It’s not clear what sparked the fire involving Amtrak’s contractor maintenance vehicles in one of the Hudson River Tunnels. It was knocked down well before 6 a.m., but service on New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and more was expected to see heavy impacts well into the morning rush, with Hudson River trains operating at reduced capacity. Amtrak said it didn’t expect to lift its suspension until at least noon.
Travel Advisory: Due to unforeseen track and signal maintenance resulting from a now extinguished fire in the New York area, all services traveling south of New York (NYP) are temporarily suspended. This suspension is anticipated to be in place until noon at a minimum. Services…
— Amtrak Northeast (@AmtrakNECAlerts) May 29, 2026
New Jersey Transit and LIRR also announced delays and cancellations. Cross-honoring and diversion programs were in effect as the situation developed. Complete LIRR service at NY Penn had resumed by around 7 a.m., Friday said, though equipment issues were causing cancellations. Get the latest transit information here.
Video from outside Penn Station showed smoke billowing in the pre-dawn hours, as emergency personnel stood by with stretchers awaiting any potential victims.
Amtrak is investigating the cause of the fire.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause,” the agency’s latest announcement said, pledging to provide updates as new information becomes available.
How are detainees at Delaney Hall being treated?
A statement issued by DHS said detainees receive comprehensive medical care and all are treated well.
“They are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals,” the department wrote.
The release accused Sherrill, Booker and U.S. Sen Andy Kim, as well as U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez, Nellie Pou, LaMonica McIver, Frank Pallone and Analilia Majia, of continuing “to peddle falsehoods about ICE facilities,” and “spreading smears about ICE law enforcement and the Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey.”
Sinha said the assertion that individuals being arrested and taken to Delaney Hall are dangerous criminals is false.
“This is an administration that has repeatedly lied to us about what’s going on in immigration enforcement and immigration detention facilities,” Sinha said.
He added while Sherrill does not have the legal authority to enter Delaney Hall unannounced, that fact that she was denied entry is concerning.
“The federal government has denied her repeatedly, and it makes you question, ‘What is the federal government trying to hide?’” he asked. “They have no allegiance to any rule of law or semblance of democracy; they’re trying to rewrite the Constitution for people who are noncitizens.”
On Thursday, Sherrill issued a statement saying the New Jersey Department of Health attempted to conduct a inspection of Delaney Hall, but officials were only allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility.
“We will review and share the department’s findings from the limited portion it was allowed to inspect, and we will continue to pursue all appropriate avenues for demanding transparency and ensuring humane conditions for the individuals being held at the facility,” she said in the statement. “As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view.”
Sinha said a hunger strike among those inside the facility is continuing because they are being given spoiled food and inadequate medical care in deplorable conditions.
“People shouldn’t have to starve themselves to make their dignity known; people shouldn’t have to starve themselves to have their rights protected, but that’s what’s happening here,” he said.
Reports of escalating violence
Late Thursday afternoon there were reports of violence escalating within Delaney Hall.
Nedia Morsy, the director of Make the Road New Jersey, an immigration advocacy group, issued a statement saying multiple sources within the facility reported ICE agents attacking detainees and causing serious injuries.
“Right now there are ICE agents inside of Delaney Hall violently beating the hunger strikers,” Morsy said in the statement. “Someone will be killed if no one intervenes and shuts this down. These masked agents are acting as if they’re above the law. This is a modern-day concentration camp, and history will not forgive silence in this moment. We need to shut down Delaney Hall and free everyone inside.”
Resistencia en Accion, another immigrant rights group, also released a statement, calling for violence against detainees to end.
“We express our utmost disgust with the violence perpetrated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents today, May 28. Reports at approximately 1:40 p.m. reveal that ICE agents attacked the hunger strikers inside with batons and tear gas. Family members outside received calls from inside, confirming that there were people screaming, and according to their loved ones inside, unconscious detainees and blood on surfaces. ICE is the sole responsible actor for the escalation that has led to several wounded people inside and outside this week,” the statement reads.
WHYY News reached out to DHS late Thursday seeking comment about the reports of violence at Delaney Hall. A written statement was emailed to WHYY that said ICE agents had responded to a physical altercation involving detainees.
“In accordance with established ICE policies and their training, staff used the minimum amount of force to safely deescalate the situation,” DHS wrote. “Following the incident, all affected detainees were promptly evaluated by on-site medical personnel and were cleared with no serious injuries.”
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