The headline race
A $259 million governor's race
Candidates and independent groups poured more than $259.4 million into the 2025 primary and general elections for governor, according to ELEC's December analysis. Adjusted for inflation, it ranked as the sixth most expensive gubernatorial contest in U.S. history — and the fourth largest in raw dollars. Measured per resident, at $27.30 a head, it was the most expensive in the country.
$259.4M
Total spent, primary + general
$27.30
Spent per NJ resident — #1 nationally
6th
Costliest U.S. governor's race ever (inflation-adjusted)
71+
Independent groups in the fight
Candidates vs. outside groups
The defining feature of the race wasn't the candidates — it was everyone spending around them. Independent groups outspent the campaigns themselves, accounting for 61% of all expenditures. ELEC called it the first time independent spenders outspent candidates in a New Jersey governor's race.
Candidate committees — $101.6M (39%)
Independent groups — $157.8M (61%)
Sherrill vs. Ciattarelli (campaigns + allies)
Counting each candidate's own campaign plus the independent groups backing them, Democrat Mikie Sherrill held a spending edge over Republican Jack Ciattarelli — a 56% to 44% margin, or about $15.6 million.
It was a TV election
Media buys dominated everything else. The campaigns and their allies spent $97.2 million on advertising — more than 85% of all general-election spending — with cable and broadcast television together accounting for about $57 million, and internet ads reaching nearly $22 million.
Cable + network TV — ~$57M
Internet ads — ~$22M
Other media — ~$18.4M
Public financing hit a new ceiling
New Jersey's public matching-funds program — one of the oldest in the nation — distributed a record $63.4 million to gubernatorial candidates across the cycle, nearly 55% more than the previous high set in 2001. In the primary alone, the state handed $38.4 million to eight qualifying candidates. Personal money barely registered: candidates self-financed just $125,890, or about 0.05% of the total — the lowest share of any megamillion governor's race ELEC could find.
How 2025 stacks up. The previous record for combined gubernatorial spending was about $145 million, set in 2005 (inflation-adjusted) — and 2025 nearly doubled it. More striking: for the first time in a New Jersey governor's race, outside groups outspent the candidates. Their $157.8 million shattered the prior independent-spending high of roughly $42 million, set in 2021.
The down-ballot fight
The legislative general election
All 80 Assembly seats were on the ballot, and Democrats turned a more than two-to-one spending advantage into their largest Assembly majority since 1973 — growing from 52 to 57 seats. ELEC's final post-election overview (Jan. 21, 2026) put total spending at $38.5 million. The defining pattern: almost all of it landed in a handful of districts.
$38.5M
Total: candidates + independent filers
76%
Concentrated in just 10 of 40 districts
$5.79M
District 8 — costliest Assembly-only race ever (nominal)
17
Independent groups (9 backed Democrats, 7 Republicans)
Of the $38.5M total, about $38.3M went to the 80 Assembly races and $128K to a special state Senate race in District 35. Candidates spent $28.0M; independent expenditure-only filers spent $10.3M.
Where the money concentrated: top 10 districts
More than $29.3 million — 76% of all legislative spending — was targeted at just ten of the state's forty districts. Sixty-eight percent of candidate spending, and 98% of all independent spending, went to those ten seats, nearly all viewed as competitive.
| District | Candidates | Independent filers | Total |
|---|
| 8 | $2,216,488 | $3,574,788 | $5,791,276 |
| 21 | $3,015,651 | $1,292,911 | $4,308,562 |
| 3 | $2,049,384 | $1,397,232 | $3,446,616 |
| 11 | $2,733,103 | $655,107 | $3,388,210 |
| 16 | $2,267,009 | $830,430 | $3,097,439 |
| 38 | $2,274,684 | $821,783 | $3,096,467 |
| 4 | $1,598,481 | $1,261,870 | $2,860,351 |
| 36 | $1,236,449 | — | $1,236,449 |
| 19 | $1,052,514 | — | $1,052,514 |
| 25 | $738,254 | $263,607 | $1,001,861 |
| All 40 districts | $28,025,888 | $10,299,588 | $38,325,476 |
District 8: the most expensive seat in the state
District 8 — covering parts of Atlantic and Burlington counties — drew $5.79 million, the costliest race ever in an Assembly-only election year in raw dollars. Democratic candidates and their allies only slightly outspent Republicans, but it was enough: Democrats reelected their incumbent and captured the district's second Assembly seat for the first time since the seat was created for the 1973 election.
Democrats — $2.95M
Republicans — $2.84M
The party gap
Counting candidates and the independent groups backing them, Democrats outspent Republicans by more than two to one — $26.6 million to $11.8 million.
| Party | Candidates | Independent filers | Total | Share |
|---|
| Democrats | $20,094,035 | $6,547,966 | $26,642,001 | 69.2% |
| Republicans | $8,057,077 | $3,751,622 | $11,808,699 | 30.8% |
| Independent | $2,733 | — | $2,733 | 0.01% |
| Total | $28,153,845 | $10,299,588 | $38,453,433 | 100% |
Money follows winners
The cash advantage paid off. Spending on winning candidates totaled $29.1 million — an average of $364,329 to secure each of the 80 seats — while $9.2 million backed the 79 losers, about $116,192 apiece. No Democratic incumbent lost; five Republican incumbents did. One likely reason: independent groups backing Democrats outspent those backing Republicans nearly two to one.
| Outcome | Candidates | Independent filers | Total | Per candidate |
|---|
| Winners (80) | $22,457,040 | $6,689,279 | $29,146,319 | $364,329 |
| Losers (79) | $5,568,847 | $3,610,310 | $9,179,157 | $116,192 |
| All (159) | $28,025,888 | $10,299,588 | $38,325,476 | $241,041 |
June 10 primary
A record-breaking primary
Spending on the June 2025 legislative primary reached $30.7 million — a record for any year when only Assembly seats are on the ballot, and 67% higher than the previous Assembly-only high (2015, inflation-adjusted). Two forces drove it: higher contribution limits under the 2023 Elections Transparency Act, and an unusually crowded field of 202 candidates chasing 80 seats.
$30.7M
Total primary spending — a record
202
Candidates (120 D, 82 R) for 80 seats
7×
Winners outspent losers ($24.3M vs $3.7M)
$5,500
New per-donor limit under the 2023 transparency law
Assembly-only primary spending, 1995–2025
Adjusted for inflation, 2025 didn't just edge out the prior record — it lapped the field.
Figures adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars. The 2023 primary cost more ($33.2M) but included 40 Senate races alongside the Assembly.
Top 10 most expensive primary districts
The ten priciest districts all had contested races and drew about a third of all candidates. District 19 led with nearly $2.8 million.
| District | Candidates | Independent | Total | Candidates on ballot |
|---|
| 19 | $2,729,519 | $37,725 | $2,767,244 | 5 |
| 32 | $2,112,966 | $432,034 | $2,545,000 | 8 |
| 33 | $2,189,777 | $60,004 | $2,249,780 | 6 |
| 20 | $1,640,577 | $145,207 | $1,785,784 | 5 |
| 37 | $1,219,256 | $209,069 | $1,428,325 | 8 |
| 36 | $1,270,166 | — | $1,270,166 | 6 |
| 38 | $1,150,303 | $46,630 | $1,196,933 | 7 |
| 16 | $930,942 | $67,580 | $998,522 | 5 |
| 4 | $824,391 | $106,037 | $930,428 | 7 |
| 31 | $617,979 | $172,456 | $790,435 | 6 |
| Statewide total | $27,962,737 | $2,727,219 | $30,689,956 | 202 |
Money follows winners
The primary's financial story was lopsided: winners spent nearly seven times more than the candidates they beat. Democrats, who had the most contested primaries, spent $23.2 million to Republicans' $4.7 million.
Winners — $24.3M
Losers — $3.7M
$24.3M spent by winners
$3.7M
The outside game
Independent money and the daisy chain
Independent expenditure committees — the groups that spend on elections without formally coordinating with campaigns — set their own records in 2025. They spent a record $2.7 million in the legislative primary alone, and one of the more revealing patterns was how often they funded each other.
Groups funding other groups
More than $1 million of what independent groups raised in the legislative primary — 37% of their total — came from other independent groups, a chain of transfers that makes the original source of the money harder to trace.
| Donor group | Recipient group | Amount |
|---|
| Fair & Affordable New Jersey (Uber) | Middle Ground | $500,000 |
| Fair & Affordable New Jersey (Uber) | Prosperity Rising | $120,000 |
| Garden State Forward (NJEA) | Middle Ground | $100,000 |
| Prosperity Rising | One Giant Leap PAC | $100,000 |
| Prosperity Rising | Hudson Votes Project | $80,000 |
| New Jersey Leading Together | Hudson Votes Project | $35,000 |
| One Giant Leap PAC | Middle Ground | $30,000 |
| Middle Ground | Hudson Votes Project | $25,000 |
| Garden State Success | Hudson Votes Project | $15,000 |
| Group-to-group total (37% of all independent funds) | $1,005,000 |
And that was just the primary. In the governor's race, the pattern was far larger: 73% of the $75 million spent by independent groups in the general election — about $55 million — was money routed from one group to another. The two biggest single transfers came from national party arms: the Democratic Governors Association sent $21.9 million to the pro-Sherrill group Greater Garden State, and the Republican Governors Association sent $12.4 million to the pro-Ciattarelli group Restore New Jersey.
Biggest independent spenders, legislative general
Seventeen groups filed independent-expenditure reports in the legislative general election — nine backing Democrats, seven backing Republicans (one gave to both sides). Groups supporting Democrats outspent those backing Republicans, $6.5 million to $3.8 million.
| Group | Backed | Spent |
|---|
| Middle Ground | Democrats | $2,578,010 |
| Stronger Foundations | Republicans | $2,024,489 |
| Community Affordability Project | Democrats | $1,656,100 |
| Republican State Leadership Committee – NJ PAC | Republicans | $1,617,322 |
| American Representative Majority | Democrats | $839,713 |
| Prosperity Rising | Democrats | $832,749 |
| Garden State Forward | Democrats | $525,920 |
| NJ Coalition of Real Estate | Both | $155,903 |
| All 17 filers | 9 D · 7 R | $10,299,588 |
What the data says
Five takeaways
1. The outside groups are now the main event
In the governor's race, independent committees outspent the candidates' own campaigns — 61% to 39% — for the first time in state history. The real contest for control of the airwaves is increasingly happening outside the official campaigns, where coordination rules are looser and donors are harder to trace.
2. Money pools in a handful of seats
76% of all legislative general-election spending hit just 10 of 40 districts. For most New Jerseyans, their Assembly race was effectively uncontested by money; for a few, it was a multimillion-dollar bombardment.
3. The 2023 transparency law raised the ceiling
Higher contribution limits under the Elections Transparency Act ($5,500 per donor, $17,300 from other committees) helped push the primary to a record. A law named for transparency also made the races more expensive.
4. Spending and victory move together
Primary winners outspent losers seven-to-one, and in the general election no Democratic incumbent lost while five Republican incumbents fell to the party with the two-to-one money edge. Money flows toward those likely to win — and, often, helps make them winners.
5. The daisy chain obscures the source
More than a third of independent primary money — and nearly three-quarters of independent spending in the governor's race — was groups funding other groups. By the time a dollar reaches a TV ad, its original source can be several hops removed from the disclosure that names it.
How this was built
Methodology & sources
Every figure on this page comes directly from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC), the state agency that collects and publishes campaign-finance disclosures. The data was pulled from ELEC's news releases and post-election analyses, then cross-checked against contemporaneous reporting.
A few caveats worth keeping in mind. The gubernatorial totals reflect ELEC's Dec. 22, 2025 post-general-election analysis of the full cycle; ELEC notes that figure is not strictly final, since some continuing political committees report later. The legislative general figures are ELEC's final post-election overview, released Jan. 21, 2026. The legislative primary figures are based on 20-day post-election reports. Independent-expenditure totals include only spending ELEC could link to specific candidates, so true outside spending is likely somewhat higher. Inflation-adjusted comparisons use ELEC's own calculations. A handful of figures are rounded for readability; the exact dollar amounts appear in the tables.
This is an independent analysis for educational and journalistic purposes. It is not affiliated with NJ ELEC or any campaign. To explore the underlying filings yourself, ELEC publishes downloadable summaries and a searchable database.
Sources