Former Democratic New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey’s attempt for a political comeback crashed and burned Tuesday as he lost the runoff election for Jersey City mayor to Democratic progressive James Solomon.
Solomon had 69 percent of the vote when the race was called in his favor.
“Tonight is a win for Jersey City against the corrupt political machine,” Solomon said in a statement, according to Politico.
“Together, we’re going to build a more affordable Jersey City, where everyone has a chance to thrive and where the people are put first, not developers and special interests. My promise to Jersey City is simple: I will be a mayor for you,” he said.
McGreevey resigned as governor in 2004 after revealing he had an affair with a man.
Solomon will replace Democratic Mayor Steven Fulop, who ran for governor but lost the Democratic primary to Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.
The runoff was required after no one received 50 percent of the votes in November’s race. Solomon placed first in that contest; McGreevey second.
The Hill noted that the contest evoked parallels with New York City’s mayoral election, in which far-left Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who left office under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations.
As noted by the New York Post, Solomon “painted himself as the anti-establishment candidate who rallied his base by promising to take on developers who’ve reshaped the city’s skyline and capping rents.”
“Excuse my French, but New York City’s gotta get its s**t together,” Solomon said about a housing crisis in New York City that has pushed Big Apple residents into New Jersey, spiking rents there.
“We’ve built a ton of housing. But we are basically sucking up the demand that New York City has failed to build housing,” he said.
McGreevey painted himself as the candidate with experience, but Solomon said it was the wrong kind.
Solomon said McGreevey represented the “politics of the past.”
“There were just scandal after scandal after scandal,” Solomon said. “That, to me, is disqualifying.”
One commentator said the election is part of a shift in Democratic Party politics.
“In an era where the old guard is doubling down on recycling politicians and political dynasties, Jersey City and New York City have just sent a very clear mandate,” Mussab Ali, a former president of the Jersey City Board of Education, said of the race, according to The New York Times.
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