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.”