Morning Digest: Twenty years after shock resignation, an ex-governor wants back into politics

Jim McGreevey had sworn off politics after his "I am a gay American" presser

Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, candidate for mayor of Jersey City (credit: Jim McGreevey campaign Facebook)

Leading Off

Jersey City, NJ Mayor

Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey's campaign for mayor of Jersey City received a high-profile endorsement over the weekend from Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat who now holds the post that McGreevey resigned from in spectacular fashion two decades ago.

McGreevey is now campaigning in the busy fall contest to succeed Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who is taking part in his own packed race to replace the termed-out Murphy.

While it's not uncommon for mayors like Fulop to seek their state's top job, only a very small group of former state executives have sought to head in the opposite direction―and none of them have ever experienced the kind of scrutiny that McGreevey experienced.

"I am a gay American," McGreevey famously proclaimed as he stood alongside his then-wife at a 2004 press conference that saw him simultaneously become the nation's first openly gay governor and announce his resignation.

McGreevey made that shocking declaration after a former homeland security aide named Golan Cipel—whom his administration had hired even though he didn't have the requisite qualifications and had failed to secure federal security clearance—threatened to sue him for sexual harassment. McGreevey said the two had had an affair, which Cipel denied, though he never filed a lawsuit.

McGreevey went on to minister to prison inmates and chaired a nonprofit focusing on prisoner reentry. For a time, he and Fulop were close allies, with Fulop appointing McGreevey to head up Jersey City's jobs commission. The former governor, however, was let go in 2019, claiming Fulop retaliated after McGreevey fired an operative close to Fulop; the city in turn said the decision was made because of alleged "financial improprieties."

McGreevey, who'd said in 2013 he'd "never" try to restart his once-promising electoral career, had a change of heart over the following decade and announced in 2023 that he would seek to succeed Fulop as mayor of the Garden State's second-largest city. (Fulop's official bio touts him as leader of the "soon-to-be largest city in New Jersey," but nearby Newark still has more people.)

The ex-governor launched his campaign two years ahead of the election with the support of the powerful local Democratic party—the Hudson County Democratic Organization—but he did not deter other local politicians from entering the race to lead this longtime Democratic stronghold.

The field includes three elected officials―Hudson County Commissioner Bill O'Dea, Councilman James Solomon, and City Council President Joyce Watterman―as well as former Board of Education President Mussab Ali. Also in the running is Flash Gordon―yes, that's his name―a recreation department employee whom NJ.com last year called a "Jersey City basketball legend." (Gordon's son is former New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas.)

McGreevey and an allied slate of City Council candidates together ended last year with considerably more cash than any of the other contenders, but his rivals are hoping to use his connections―both local and national―against him.

O'Dea launched his own campaign in 2023 by highlighting that many mayors from other cities were supporting McGreevey, writing, "Our city. Our choice." O'Dea also focused on his roots in an unsubtle contrast to the former governor, who was born in Jersey City but spent most of his life elsewhere.

Solomon, who has clashed with Fulop and sided against the county party in primaries, entered the race the following year by pitching himself as a change from both the mayor and McGreevey. Last week, he went a step further and connected McGreevey to Donald Trump, noting that both employ the same pollster, McLaughlin & Associates.

(Surprisingly, McGreevey isn't an outlier among local Democrats. Despite its GOP ties, long history of huge misses, and role in spreading election conspiracies, Politico's Matt Friedman writes that several local Democrats are also McLaughlin clients.)

Ali, who like Solomon has aligned with progressives against the party establishment, also criticized McGreevey last year for benefiting from a fundraiser co-costed by George Gilmore, a former Ocean County Republican leader who went to prison for tax evasion. (Trump pardoned him at the end of his first term.) Ali, who is in his late 20s, would be Jersey City's first Muslim mayor as well as one of the youngest mayors in the country.

Watterman, meanwhile, is arguing that her opponents aren't doing enough to focus on violent crime. The Council president, who has emphasized the fact that she's the only Black woman seeking this job, would be the city's first woman ever elected mayor.

All candidates will compete on one nonpartisan ballot on Nov. 4, which is the same day as the general election for governor. If no one receives a majority of the vote, a runoff would take place on Dec. 2.

PA's Austin Davis on electing more LG's like him

Election Night

FL-01, FL-06

Primaries for two vacant Florida House seats are taking place tonight, but there's little doubt about the outcomes on the GOP side thanks to Donald Trump's involvement.

In the Pensacola-area 1st District, left open by Matt Gaetz, Trump is backing state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. He has a large number of opponents, but he's raised by far the most money—almost $1 million—and again, see: Trump. The only Democrat running is gun safety activist Gay Valimont, who lost to Gaetz 66-34 last year.

On the other side of the state in the 6th District, the candidate with Trump's blessing to succeed his new national security advisor, Michael Waltz, is state Sen. Randy Fine, who faces a couple of minor rivals. Democrats will choose between attorney Ges Selmont and teacher Josh Weil. Like the 1st, the Daytona Beach-based 6th is very conservative; Waltz won reelection last year 67-33.

The general election for both seats is on April 1.

Governors

AZ-Gov

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, who had taken several concrete steps toward a bid for governor last week, formally announced his campaign at a party gathering over the weekend.

Biggs, a vocal member of the far-right Freedom Caucus and a one-time winner of $10 million in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, is the first major Republican in the race against Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. However, he's likely to be joined by businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who earned a pre-endorsement from Donald Trump last month.

He's also not likely to be the favorite of the D.C. establishment. During his time in Congress, Biggs has repeatedly made life hell for party leaders, including Kevin McCarthy: He didn't just vote to oust him as speaker in 2023 but ran against him for the job a year earlier.

Picking on the hapless McCarthy is one thing, though; Biggs has also frequently opposed none other than Trump. According to 538, Biggs backed Trump's position on congressional votes just 73% of the time in Trump's first two years in office. That gave him the fifth-lowest loyalty score among House Republicans—a record that included a vote against Trump's plan to repeal Obamacare.

FL-Gov

Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried, who recently declined to answer questions about whether she might run for governor again, said she would not run next year following her election to another term as chair on Saturday. After winning a race for state agriculture secretary in 2018, Fried lost the Democratic primary in 2022 by a 60-33 margin to then-Rep. Charlie Crist, who in turn got blown out 59-40 in the general election by Republican Ron DeSantis.

IA-Gov

Former state Rep. Brad Sherman (no, not that Brad Sherman) is reportedly planning to challenge Gov. Kim Reynolds from the right in next year's GOP primary and "indicated he has a campaign kickoff planned for February" in comments to Bleeding Heartland's Laura Belin.

Sherman "would face long odds against Reynolds," notes Bellin, but as she also points out, some underfunded hardliners performed surprisingly well in primaries against high-profile Iowa Republicans last year. Most notable among them was Christian activist David Pautsch, who held Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks to a soft 56-44 win in the 1st district; Miller-Meeks went on to win reelection by just 798 votes, the third-closest House race in the nation.

Reynolds has yet to say whether she'll seek a third full term, but multiple media outlets have reported that she's "expected" to do so.

OH-Gov

An unnamed source "involved in the planning" of businessman Vivek Ramaswamy's reported bid for governor tells NBC's Henry Gomez, "Expect Vivek to announce his candidacy in mid-February." Politico previously reported that Ramaswamy would launch "by the last week in January."

SD-Gov

Republican Larry Rhoden was sworn in as South Dakota's new governor on Monday following Kristi Noem's confirmation as Donald Trump's new Homeland Security secretary, though he may yet face a primary next year if he runs for a full term.

Rhoden, who was first elected as lieutenant governor on a ticket with Noem in 2018, declined to say whether he'd run again following his investiture, telling the press, "I'm laser-focused on getting to work here," though he was a likely candidate even before his ascension.

But two major Republican names declined to rule out running against Rhoden after Trump announced he'd tap Noem for his cabinet last year, and neither appears to have since changed their tune. Both men in question, Attorney General Marty Jackley and Rep. Dusty Johnson, offered their congratulations to Rhoden, though Jackley's message was a little more personal, noting he's "known Larry since he welded our ranch branding irons more than a quarter of a century ago."

Rhoden will also get to choose a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the legislature.

House

CO-08

State Rep. Manny Rutinel launched a bid for Colorado's swingy 8th District in the northern Denver suburbs on Monday, making him the first Democrat to challenge first-term Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.

Rutinel, though, has never won a contested election before, and he's unlikely to have the field to himself. In 2023, he was tapped to replace state Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet when she was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the state Senate, then won a full term last year without opposition.

In the same article covering Rutinel's kickoff, the Colorado Sun's Jesse Paul also mentions Michaelson Jenet as being "interested in running" along with several others, including Adams County Commissioners Julie Duran Mullica and Steve O'Dorisio, and state Treasurer Dave Young, who is termed-out next year.

Previously, the woman Evans ousted last year, former Rep. Yadira Caraveo, also did not rule out a bid. Shortly after her 2,449-vote loss—the fifth-closest House election in the country last year—a spokesperson said Caraveo would "evaluate potential next steps" in the months ahead.

IN-07

Democratic strategist George Hornedo has formed what he's calling an exploratory committee for a possible primary challenge against Rep. Andre Carson and tells Politico's Adam Wren he's considering a bid. Hornedo worked for the presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg (who had been mayor of South Bend, Indiana, before running) and is a member of the state party's Latino Democratic Caucus.

Carson, who is Black, has served the Indianapolis-based 7th District since winning a special election early in 2008 to replace his grandmother, Julia Carson, following her death. The only time Carson ever faced a serious intra-party race in the safely blue 7th came a few months later during the regular primary for a full term, but he turned aside his closest opponent 47-24.

MD-06

Former Republican Del. Neil Parrott, who's now lost three straight bids for Maryland's 6th District, has filed paperwork with the FEC that could signal he wants to try a fourth time. Parrott's most recent defeat came last year when Democrat April McClain Delaney beat him 53-47 in an open-set race. Caution is always necessary, though, when reading tea leaves like these, since sometimes FEC filings are made purely for accounting reasons and not because the candidate whose name is on them actually wants to run again.

NY-03, NY-04

Nassau County GOP chair Joe Cairo suggests in new comments to Politico's Emily Ngo that two Republicans who lost House races last year could try again, Mike LiPetri and Anthony D'Esposito.

D'Esposito flipped the open 4th District in 2022 by defeating Democrat Laura Gillen 52-48, but Gillen won a rematch 51-49 two years later. LiPetri, meanwhile, lost to Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi 52-48 in the neighboring 3rd. Neither Republican has said anything publicly, though, and Cairo sounded less than certain, saying, "We'll see what happens the next two years."

Secretaries of State

MI-SoS

Democrat Aghogho Edevbie, who serves as the top deputy to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, announced on Monday that he'd run to succeed his boss, who is waging a bid for governor. Edevbie is the first major candidate in either party to enter the race.

But while Michigan voters will get the chance to choose their preferred gubernatorial candidates in next year's primaries, they won't get to pick nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, which will be decided by delegates to party conventions, likely in the spring of 2026.

Benson herself won the Democratic nod at just such a gathering in 2018 before winning two terms as the state's top election official. She did not face serious opposition at that convention, but fellow Democrat Dana Nessel, who went on to become attorney general, won a contested nomination decided by some 6,700 attendees.

Nessel, like Benson, is also term-limited, so Democrats could see multiple candidates vie for both posts. No one's stepped forward to run for attorney general yet, but Beth LeBlanc of the Detroit News mentions two other Democrats, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and state Sen. Jeremy Moss, as possible contenders for secretary of state.

Mayors & County Leaders

Prince George's County, MD Executive

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks endorsed Prince George's County Council Member Calvin Hawkins on Friday ahead of the March 4 special Democratic primary to replace her as executive of this populous community. The Washington Post notes that Hawkins is a longtime ally of Alsobrooks, who was elected to the Senate last year.

The same cannot be said of two of Hawkins' intraparty foes. State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy was a high-profile surrogate for then-Rep. David Trone during his unsuccessful primary campaign against Alsobrooks. Alsobrooks, meanwhile, passed over another candidate, former Executive Rushern Baker, during his 2022 campaign for governor. Instead, she delivered a crucial endorsement to Wes Moore, who went on to win both the primary and general election.

The special election field also includes County Council President Jolene Ivey and state Sen. Alonzo Washington. It takes a simple plurality to claim the Democratic nod in this loyally blue county, and the winner will have no trouble in the June 3 general election.

Other Races

VA-LG

Conservative radio host John Reid announced on Monday that he'd run for lieutenant governor, which is likely the only statewide post that will host a competitive Republican primary this year.

Reid, whose father was a longtime Republican member of the state House, would be the first gay person to hold statewide office in Virginia. As the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Anna Bryson notes, nearly three-quarters of GOP lawmakers recently voted against an amendment to repeal the ban on same-sex marriage that voters added to the state constitution in a 57-43 vote in 2006.

Reid joins a primary that already includes one notable candidate in Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity. State GOP chair Rich Anderson also did not rule out a bid last year, though he doesn't appear to have said anything lately.

Democrats, meanwhile, have a five-way contest between state Sens. Aaron Rouse and Ghazal Hashmi; Prince William County School Board chair Babur Lateef; Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney; and former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado. Both parties will choose their nominees on June 17.