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Former Democratic New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and Jersey City Council member James Solomon advanced to a runoff mayoral race slated for later this year, The Associated Press reported.
The runoff election will be held Dec. 2 after no candidate won the majority of the vote on Tuesday.
The nonpartisan Jersey City mayoral race was crowded with seven candidates, including McGreevey, who was viewed as the frontrunner, alongside Bill O’Dea, who is a Hudson County commissioner and former city councilman, and Solomon, a city councilman.
The election also included former school board president Mussab Ali, city police Officer Christina Freeman, City Council President Joyce Watterman and candidate Kalki Jayne-Rose.
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New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced his resignation at a press conference in the State House in Trenton, New Jersey, Aug. 12, 2004. (Steve Hockstein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jersey City is a crucial jurisdiction in the Garden State, with a population of nearly 303,000 people conveniently located directly across the Hudson River from New York City.
The mayoral race follows longtime Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop opting not to run for another term. Fulop unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination to serve as New Jersey governor earlier in 2025.
McGreevey’s run for Jersey City mayor marked his official return to New Jersey politics following his resignation as governor in 2004, when it was revealed he was having an affair with a male staffer whom he named the state’s Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness. McGreevey was married to a woman at the time and resigned as his former affair partner threatened a sexual harassment lawsuit.
“I’m not asking folks to judge my soul. That’s for God,” McGreevey told NJ.com in October of his return to politics. “What I would ask people to ask is, “Will I be a good mayor?’”
McGreevey subsequently came out as gay and largely withdrew from the public eye after his resignation. He entered the seminary after his resignation and focused his attention on faith-based community service, according to his campaign website.
A voting station in New Jersey in June 2025 during the Garden State’s primary election. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
He is known as the first openly gay governor in U.S. history.
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Similar to the New Jersey gubernatorial election, the Jersey City mayoral election directed its focus to affordability in a state known nationwide for its sky-high taxes and housing woes.
McGreevey, for example, campaigned on building 1,000 new affordable homes for city residents and requiring 20% of new developments to be reserved for affordable housing.
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Jersey City is located directly across the Hudson River from New York City. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
O’Dea campaigned on rent control measures for the city bad building affordable housing specifically for teachers, nurses and first responders, according to his website. Solomon touted he would end the “current pay-to-play system for tax breaks for developers” to bring down housing costs and end “double-digit rent hikes in all residential buildings,” according to his campaign website.
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New Jersey polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and the state and nation closely watched the Garden State’s gubernatorial election, which elected Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherill.
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