'Unpredictable' New Jersey primary hits final stretch with Mikie Sherrill atop a bunched-up field

New Jersey Democrats' primary for governor is coming down to the final month.

New Jersey Democrats' primary for governor is coming down to the final month. And while the race is still hotly contested, some candidates are signaling that they view Rep. Mikie Sherrill as the one to beat.   

Five of the six Democratic contenders will face off in a two-and-a-half-hour debate on Sunday, following a heated encounter earlier this week that offered a preview of the attacks that could be coming at Sherrill. Both Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka aimed barbs at the congresswoman and cast her as inexperienced and moderate, implying that they view her as an obstacle.  

But the race remains very fluid. Limited public polling has shown Sherrill leading the pack, with the candidates largely clustered together and within the surveys’ margins of error.   

“It is the most unsettled race in the 30 years that I’ve been working in New Jersey,” said Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky. 

The race is difficult to gauge because such a hotly contested primary is unusual in the state, where party bosses have wielded their power to anoint their preferred candidates. But the county parties lost the ability to give their preferred candidates advantageous positions on primary ballots when the state changed its ballot design last year, following a lawsuit from now-Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J.