A look at federal, county and municipal races in Middlesex County in 2026
Middlesex County has long been one of New Jersey’s strongest Democratic bastions. Home to nearly 900,000 residents, it is the state’s third-most populous county, with its Democratic dominance reinforced by a powerful county organization and heavily Democratic municipalities such as New Brunswick, home to Rutgers University. The county has not elected a Republican to countywide office since 1991—a drought exceeded only by Hudson County, which last elected a Republican countywide in 1956, and Camden County, where the last Republican victory came in 1990.
Even so, Middlesex was one of the few Democratic strongholds where President Donald Trump made significant gains in 2024. After Joe Biden carried the county by 22 percentage points in 2020, Trump cut the Democratic margin to just eight points four years later. With Middlesex now only 42% white, his improved performance likely reflected substantial gains among non-white voters.
By 2025, however, many of those voters appeared to have shifted back toward the Democratic Party. Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried Middlesex County by 28 points—twice her statewide margin—signaling a sharp Democratic rebound in just one year. At the local, county, and federal levels, Democrats appear to be benefiting from that renewed strength. Many municipalities where Trump made notable gains in 2024, including Carteret, do not even have Republican candidates on the ballot this year, suggesting that his support may have been uniquely personal and has not translated into broader down-ballot Republican competitiveness.
Democrats are unopposed in Carteret, Cranbury, East Brunswick, Highland Park, Jamesburg, Metuchen, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, and Plainsboro. Republicans are uncontested only in South Plainfield.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/a-look-at-federal-county-and-municipal-races-in-middlesex-county-in-2026/