U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5), a Democratic candidate for governor, gave the Hudson County Democratic Organization $37,500 in August ahead of the local party’s potential switch to U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11).
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Gottheimer, who made his gov run official on November 15th, made the max donation to the Hudson County Dems on August 26th, according to their October 15th report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
This came about five weeks after the New Jersey Globe reported that state Senator Brian Stack (D-33), County Executive Craig Guy, also the HCDO chair, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, and West New York Mayor Albio Sires would back Gottheimer in his statewide run.
While nothing is official yet, those plans appear to be changing, given that Guy attended a LIUNA event for Sherrill at the League of Municipalities in Atlantic City before hosting his own event where he walked her around and introduced her to people.
This came after Guy did not attend a league breakfast hosted by Gottheimer, despite his name being on the invitation for the event.
Furthermore, Sherrill attended the Brian Stack Civic Association’s annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway on Saturday, a move that would typically be a strong indicator that the tide is turning in Hudson County.
“It was great to be in Hudson County yesterday! My sons and I joined volunteers to deliver turkeys to thousands of residents across Union City and beyond,” Sherrill wrote on X on Sunday.
“Thank you to Mayor @brianstacknj and his whole team for their hard work helping the community ahead of Thanksgiving. 🦃”
In the event that the HCDO does switch their endorsement for governor a third time (the HCDO backed Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop under Guy’s predecessor, Anthony Vainieri), Gottheimer does not appear ready to give up in Hudson County just yet.
“Great seeing Weehawken Mayor Turner and Assemblyman Sampson at the League breakfast. Great conversation about building a more affordable Jersey!” he wrote on X on Friday.
An advisor for Gottheimer’s campaign did not return an email seeking comment, while Guy did not return a text message seeking comment.
Meanwhile, Fulop, who is running as an aggressive anti-machine candidate, deferred comment to his tweets on the subject from this past weekend.
“I know we’re doing something right when the NJ political machine is already forcing consolidation. I feel bad for Josh and it all looks so silly but the establishment in NJ doesn’t care how it looks,” he wrote.
“I said from the beginning the machine will go with who they know they can control and who has promised them the best for their financial interests. It’s as simple as that.”
Other Democrats who have declared a gubernatorial run in the June 3th, 2025 primary include Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller.
 gave the HCDO $37.5k in Aug. ahead of the local party's potential switch to U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11).){kind=link}