Kerrie Joyce 
On November 4th, thousands of ballots were counted in the municipal races in Jersey City. Candidates James Solomon and Jim McGreevey were the two leading vote-getters in the race, and will run against each other in a runoff election to be held on December 2nd, 2025. Read on for more about the 2025 Jersey City mayoral election and runoff.
What is a Runoff
Runoff elections take place in certain elections when no candidate reaches a sufficient majority, typically 50 percent plus one, in a given election. A runoff election is essentially a tie-breaker, since it is a second election held weeks afterwards to establish a clear winner with a sufficient majority. Per New Jersey’s Election Statutes + Rules, runoffs are conducted for non-partisan municipal elections in municipalities throughout the state when no majority is met to elect a Mayor, Ward Councilman, or the required number of Councilmen-at-Large (or commissioners, or village trustees) for that municipality.
In Jersey City, runoff elections have taken place in past municipal races. Notably, in 2017, there were four City Council elections that advanced to run-offs, which were the first run-offs to be held in December.
The 2025 Election
In Jersey City’s 2025 Mayoral Election, no candidate won a majority of the vote, meaning the two leading candidates will have a rematch on December 2nd, 2025. The two leading candidates are City Councilman James Solomon, who received 17,200 votes, equaling 29.02% of the vote; and former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who had 15,402 votes, equaling 25.38% of the vote. The difference between the two is less than 2,500 votes.
Per the Hudson County Board of Elections’ Calendar, the Jersey City municipal runoff election is scheduled for Tuesday, December 2nd.
James Solomon’s campaign released the following statement about the runoff. Notably, he wants to have six debates with his opponent before the runoff. According to a statement from the Solomon campaign: “It’s vital that Jersey City voters get to see these competing visions, which is why today I am calling on Jim McGreevey to agree to six debates, with at least two televised debates, so we can discuss our very different visions for the city.”
This piece will be updated if and when Jim McGreevey’s campaign releases a statement.
This piece will be updated as more information is made available.
