Jersey City mayor race: Polls, betting odds, how to vote in runoff election

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Jersey City residents will head back to the polls again in just a few days to finally decide who will be the city's next mayor.

After voters were faced with a congested ticket of seven candidates in November, the runoff election has narrowed the race down to two — former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey and Jersey City councilmember James Solomon.

FOX 5 NY is your home for the Jersey City runoff election. Bookmark our Election Results page to track in real-time, and tune into our Election Night coverage live right here on fox5ny.com and FOX LOCAL New York as the night unfolds.

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What is a runoff election?

What we know:

In New Jersey, a runoff election is held when no candidate receives a majority of votes in a municipal race. The runoff typically takes place on the fourth Tuesday after the regular election, or on the fifth Tuesday if it conflicts with a primary date. 

General election results

The backstory:

Results from the general election on Nov. 4 showed a close race between three candidates, with Solomon just beating out the former governor for top vote-getter. Solomon secured just over 29% of the vote, while McGreevey earned about 25% of the vote. Former Hudson County Commissioner Bill O'Dea was close behind with 21.4% of the vote.

Only one other candidate got more than 10% of the vote.

Who are the candidates in the Jersey City mayoral runoff?

Jim McGreevey

Jim McGreevey has spent decades in New Jersey politics, including a brief stint as governor of the state. McGreevey served as mayor of Woodbridge Township for a decade before serving as a state senator and assemblymember. McGreevey was elected governor in 2001 but resigned just two years into his term after publicly coming out as gay and admitting to having an affair.

On the policy front, McGreevey has campaigned on affordability, vowing to build 1,000 new affordable homes and 500 new affordable rental homes for seniors, and mandating 20% of new developments to be reserved for affordable housing. He also wants to implement "zero-based" budgeting, a system that would require city departments to formulate their annual budget from zero, rather than past years’ spending. 

James Solomon

James Solomon represents downtown Jersey City on the City Council and has served in the role since 2017. Before that, he was an aid for the Mayor of Boston. 

Solomon is running on a platform aimed at affordable housing, improved public schools and anti-corruption. He wants to create grants and fellowships that support local journalism, increase the police force by 100 officers, create a mental health crisis response team, stop double-digit rent hikes and more. 

Solomon also battled Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015.

Jersey City mayor's race polls

By the numbers:

One recent poll shows Solomon may have a substantial lead heading into Tuesday. 

The Nov. 13 poll from Impact Research, which Solomon's campaign commissioned, showed the councilmember with a nearly 40-point lead over McGreevey, with 58% of those polled saying they'd vote for Solomon, over 29% for McGreevey. The poll also found that among those who voted for neither of the two remaining candidates in the general election, nearly three quarters say they would vote for Solomon.

Betting odds

The oddsmakers seem to agree with the recent poll numbers.

• Polymarket: 93% Solomon, 6% McGreevey
• Kalshi: 95% Solomon, 6% McGreevey

Both markets had McGreevey ahead for nearly the entire campaign leading up to Nov. 4, but overnight, the odds shifted well in Solomon's favor.

How to vote in Jersey City mayoral election

What you can do:

Unlike the general election, there is no early voting in the runoff election. However, voters can still mail in their ballots or drop them off at drop boxes.

In-person polling locations will be open on Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your local polling location here. 

If you want to drop your ballot off, you have until 8 p.m. on Dec. 2. Drop box locations can be found here.

Any mailed in ballots need to be postmarked on or before Dec. 2, and the Hudson County Board of Elections needs to receive them within six days after the election.

If you didn't receive your mail-in ballot, officials recommend calling the Hudson County Division of Elections at 201-369-3470 and selecting Option 6, or by emailing countyclerk@hcnj.us.

Once your ballot has been submitted, you can track it here.

Tuesday's runoff election includes several Jersey City Council seats, in addition to the mayor's race. Residents can check their sample ballots on the Hudson County Clerk's webpage here.

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