Updated on: December 2, 2025 / 11:29 PM EST / CBS New York
James Solomon has been projected the winner of the Jersey City mayoral runoff by the Associated Press, defeating former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey. Solomon, a progressive city councilman, was declared the victor less than an hour after polls closed Tuesday.
The contest followed a Nov. 4 election in which seven candidates split the vote and none reached the 50% threshold, forcing the runoff between Solomon and McGreevey.
Solomon declared victory Tuesday night and pledged to prioritize residents over developers and special interests. He said, ‘I believe in the people of Jersey City, and today that belief has been rewarded. We sent a message to the entire state of New Jersey that the people of Jersey City cannot be bought.’ He promised to ‘build a more affordable Jersey City, where everyone has a chance to thrive,’ and said he would be ‘a mayor for you.’
McGreevey conceded and congratulated Solomon. When asked whether he intended to run again in the future, McGreevey smiled, shook his head and said, ‘No.’
Affordability was the central issue in the runoff. Although both men ran as Democrats and party labels did not appear on the ballot, they presented different approaches to housing and developer regulation. Solomon campaigned on tougher oversight of developers, promises to force more below-market housing, cap rent increases and prevent sudden steep rent hikes. McGreevey advocated for requiring a portion of new market-rate projects — roughly 20% — to be affordable units integrated within the same buildings.
Voters who turned out cited rising taxes and the high cost of living as driving concerns. Resident Mike Liu said, ‘Just in, I think, 2022 alone, our taxes shot up by, like, 20, 30%.’ Resident Nisrit Osman added, ‘I don’t think anything is really that affordable anymore.’
The campaign at times grew heated. Solomon accused McGreevey of being backed by the local political machine and developers, and McGreevey countered by blaming rising property taxes on city leadership under figures like Solomon. Despite their differences, both candidates agreed the city needs safer streets and more police officers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.