Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who’s led the booming waterfront city for 10 years, will run for governor in 2025.
The 46-year-old third-term mayor will seek the Democratic nomination in what so far is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic field, though he’s so far the only major candidate to formally announce his run.
“From my time serving as a U.S. Marine to leading Jersey City as Mayor, my career has always been guided by a strong desire to take on difficult challenges and find solutions that help improve peoples’ lives, and now I’m running for Governor to bring those same values to Trenton,” Fulop, an Iraq veteran, said in a press release.
“I’m launching my campaign now because I believe that New Jersey can become an even better place for all of us, and I will be sharing my vision over the coming months for how we will make it happen,” he added. “I’ve never backed down from a fight before, and I’m ready to work hard for all the people of our great state to deliver the results New Jersey deserves.”
An accompanying announcement video opens with images of the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 and recounts how Fulop left his job in finance to join the Marines, and it includes interviews with several veterans Fulop served with. It then highlights his policies in Jersey City, like paid sick leave requirements for many businesses and a $15 minimum wage for city workers.
Jersey City, which is directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, has seen a huge development boom under Fulop. He’s boasted of helping attract major developments more inland from the city’s waterfront, which seen periodic post-industrial building booms since the 1980s.
Fulop’s candidacy itself is far from a surprise. He announced he would not seek reelection as mayor in January in what was widely viewed as a pre-gubernatorial announcement.
But it is a surprise that he announced his candidacy two years before the Democratic primary. Prospective candidates often hold off on formally announcing their candidacies because, if they accept public financing as most do, they’re be limited to $7.3 million ahead of the primary. However, a super PAC that’s run by his wife’s business partner called Coalition for Progress, which is all but officially considered Fulop’s, has $6.2 million in the bank.
Fulop was on the precipice of running for governor in 2017. He traveled the state to meet with power brokers, but suddenly backed off in the fall of 2016 to endorse now-Gov. Phil Murphy, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits.
Other frequently-mentioned potential Democratic candidates for governor include former Senate President Steve Sweeney, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
Former 2021 gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli has also said he intends to run again, though he’s likely to face other Republicans for the nomination.