Election Day — a municipal election in Pennsylvania and a general election in New Jersey — is on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

And, while the day might not generate the passionate outpouring from voters that a presidential may command, there are a number of important races on the ballot.

These are the races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that we are watching.

The race for governor of New Jersey

While all 80 seats in the New Jersey general assembly are up for election this week, the most impactful may be the race for governor.

Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, was unable to run for re-election, as he is limited to two terms in office. His tenure will end in January.

In the race to replace Murphy in New Jersey are Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

Sherrill is a Democratic congresswoman for the House of Representatives for New Jersey’s 11th district and a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor who took office in 2019.

Ciattarelli is a former assemblyman for New Jersey’s 16th district. He is also the owner of Galen Publishing, L.L.C., a medical publishing company and has previously served as a public accountant.

The results of a poll, conducted Oct. 3-17, showed 50% of likely voters saying favored Sherrill ahead of Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025’s elections.

That poll also asked about President Donald Trump, who supports Ciattarelli.

In the poll, 52% said he is a “major factor” in their vote, 14% said he is a minor factor, and 34% said he isn’t a factor at all.

Over the past week, NBC10’s Lauren Mayk traveled throughout New Jersey to talk to voters about the governor’s race and she found locals were concerned about taxes, utility bills and having a governor that is accountable to the people of New Jersey.

A recent look at the race by NBC News found both candidates hoping to define their differences from Murphy. According to NBC News, Ciattarelli tied Sherrill to Murphy and cast himself as the candidate representing change in the race, placing blame for the state’s problems on Murphy and Democrats, who control the state legislature.

“Politicians like Mikie Sherrill and Phil Murphy just don’t get it,” Ciattarelli said in one recent TV ad. “They’re making New Jersey unaffordable, especially for the middle class. We need a change.”

The NBC News report also found Sherrill has been distancing herself from Murphy on the issue of the state’s rising electricity costs, while “also casting herself as a candidate who will bring change to state government.”

“Make no mistake, I’ll also fight Trenton to bring down costs for families,” Sherrill said in a recent debate.

As Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli prepare for the upcoming general election for governor of New Jersey on Nov. 4, 2025, NBC10 is traveling through the garden state for a look at what voters want out of their new governor. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk hosts NBC10 @Issue for Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. 

A Philadelphia District Attorney rematch

It’s a match up that may seem like deja vu.

Just six months ago, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and former judge Pat Dugan faced off at the ballot box.

And, now, the pair are set to face off again on Election Day.

Only this time, Dugan is running as a Republican candidate.

It’s a change he had to make after the primary elections earlier this year, when Dugan — running in the primaries as a Democrat — was defeated by Krasner who secured over 60% of the vote.

This time, Krasner is seeking a third term as district attorney for the City of Brotherly Love.

In recent months, under Krasner, crime rates have fallen in Philadelphia, after they rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Dugan has aimed to make the race about Krasner’s crime-fighting policies. Dugan dubbed Krasner as “Let ’em Go Larry” and has accused the incumbent of staffing his office with ill-prepared and inexperienced lawyers.

After losing in the primaries, Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and former head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, switched parties in order to continue to run as Krasner’s opponent.

Most recently, Dugan has claimed Krasner’s “failed policies” led to the recent case involving the slaying of Philadelphia woman, Kada Scott.

Dugan claimed the District Attorney’s Office failed to produce a witness and present evidence to keep her alleged killer Keon King in jail after an earlier kidnapping charge in a separate case.

“Withdrawals like Keon King’s are typical in Philadelphia’s Municipal Court because the District Attorneys are often vastly unprepared to hold preliminary hearings,” Dugan said. “This is the normal policy of the DAO, and it happens far too frequently. Cases like this are why I stepped down from the bench and was moved to run for District Attorney of Philadelphia.”

Krasner — who originally ran in 2017 on a progressive platform that included holding police accountable, while opposing the death penalty, cash bail, the over-prosecution of minor nonviolent offenses and the culture of mass incarceration — countered these criticisms, saying bail wasn’t set high enough in that case to keep King behind bars.

Krasner said his office sought nearly $1 million in bail, in order to keep King detained after he was arrested in a different kidnapping and assault case earlier this year.

Krasner said a judge didn’t approve it and set a lower bail, leading to that case being withdrawn in May.

“A million dollars minus one dollar bail and we did not get it. We don’t set bail. Judges do. The bail was set at $200,000,” Krasner said. “Why? Well probably because the commissioner who set the bail probably imagined that was enough to hold Keon King in custody. It wasn’t. Keon King had access to a lot of money and so he paid $20,000 bail almost immediately and was out of custody as a consequence of that, alright? This is the problem with cash bail.”

If elected to a third term, Krasner intends to, among other goals, expand alternatives to prosecution, push for public health solutions to gun violence, keep holding those in power accountable and protect democracy.

For his part, Dugan said that, if elected, he would institute a neighborhood-focused strategy for combatting crime.

He plans to build “a District Attorney’s Office that answers the phone, shows up in community meetings, and delivers on promises.”

Dugan also said he plans to be tough on violent offenders but have “the compassion to give first-time, non-violent offenders a real path forward.”

Pa. Supreme Court shakeup

For the past decade, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has had a Democratic majority of 5-2. But, that could soon change as Democratic justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht, are all up for retention.

This is less an election than a simple yes-no choice. Voters will have the option of selecting “yes” to retain each of the three Democratic justices or “no” to begin a process that would call for the election of a new justice.

If the voters decide not to retain a justice, it would then fall on Governor Josh Shapiro to appoint a temporary replacement until 2027. Though, that appointee would have to be approved by the state’s Republican-controlled Senate.

If no replacement is approved, one seat on the court would remain vacant until the next judicial election in two years.

However, having a justice removed before an election is rare in Pennsylvania. A judge has only not been retained once since 1968 — Democratic justice Russell Nigro in 2005.

In this case, the nonpartisan Philadelphia Bar Association has recommended that voters retain all three state Supreme Court justices.

Information for Election Day

PENNSYLVANIA

In Pennsylvania polls will be open for Municipal Election Day on Nov. 7, 2025, open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The last day to register to vote was Oct. 20, 2025.

But, if you’d still like to request a mail-in or absentee ballot, the last day to do so is Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

For more information on the upcoming Municipal Election Day or how to request a mail-in ballot, visit the Pennsylvania Department of State’s site for voter information.

NEW JERSEY

Early in-person voting is already underway in New Jersey.

Now through Nov. 2, 2025, New Jersey residents can vote early in-person from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

For information on early in-person voting locations throughout the garden state, click here.

Also, on Election Day, voters throughout the state will be able to visit their local polling place between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. to cast their ballots.

Voters can visit vote.nj.gov to find a polling place.

To vote by mail in New Jersey, applications for mail-in ballots must be received by county clerk office’s in a voters local county by Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

For a list of county offices where mail-in ballots can be requested, click here.