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Jim McGreevey
Jim McGreevey was the Governor of New Jersey. He assumed office on January 15, 2002. He left office on November 15, 2004.
McGreevey ran for election for Mayor of Jersey City in New Jersey. He lost in the general runoff election on December 2, 2025.
McGreevey represented District 19 in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 1992 and District 19 in the New Jersey Senate from 1994 to 1998. During his tenure in the New Jersey Legislature, McGreevey served simultaneously as mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. He was first elected mayor in 1991 and was re-elected in 1995 and 1999.
In 1997, McGreevey ran for governor of New Jersey. In the general election, incumbent Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) defeated McGreevey 47% to 46%. McGreevey ran for governor again in 2001. In the general election, McGreevey defeated Bret Schundler (R) 56% to 42%.
On Aug. 12, 2004, McGreevey announced during a press conference that he would resign from office after his former homeland security adviser, Golan Cipel, said he would sue McGreevey for sexual harassment.[1] McGreevey, who was married at the time, later said he had a consensual extramarital affair with Cipel.[2] Click here for more information about McGreevey’s resignation.
Biography
James McGreevey was born in 1957 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and grew up in Carteret, New Jersey. He received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1978, a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1981, a master’s degree from Harvard University in 1982, and a master's degree from The General Theological Seminary in 2010.[3] McGreevey's professional experience included working as an assistant prosecutor in Middlesex County, New Jersey, the executive director of the New Jersey State Parole Board, and the director of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation.[2][3]
Elections
2025
See also: Mayoral election in Jersey City, New Jersey (2025)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Jersey City
James Solomon defeated Jim McGreevey in the general runoff election for Mayor of Jersey City on December 2, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | James Solomon (Nonpartisan) | 67.9 | 14,402 |
 | Jim McGreevey (Nonpartisan) | 32.1 | 6,821 | |
| Total votes: 21,223 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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General election
General election for Mayor of Jersey City
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Jersey City on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Solomon (Nonpartisan) | 29.1 | 17,200 |
| ✔ | | Jim McGreevey (Nonpartisan) | 25.4 | 15,042 |
| William O'Dea (Nonpartisan) | 21.6 | 12,750 | ||
 | Mussab Ali (Nonpartisan) | 18.3 | 10,843 | |
 | Joyce Watterman (Nonpartisan) | 3.9 | 2,282 | |
 | Christina Freeman (Nonpartisan) | 1.5 | 865 | |
| Kalki Jayne-Rose (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 151 | ||
| Total votes: 59,133 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McGreevey in this election.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jim McGreevey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy events
Resignation (2004)
On Aug. 12, 2004, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (D) announced that he would resign, effective Nov. 15, 2004.[2] New Jersey Senate President Richard Codey (D) served the remainder of McGreevey’s term, which ended on Jan. 17, 2006. McGreevey was the 12th governor of New Jersey to resign from office. Click here for more information about the history of gubernatorial resignations in New Jersey.
In January 2002, McGreevey appointed Golan Cipel to serve as his homeland security advisor.[4] According to The New York Times’ David Kocieniewski, Cipel “stepped down from the domestic security job in March [2002], after Republicans pointed out that his status as an Israeli citizen prevented him from obtaining a security clearance from the F.B.I., and he was reassigned to Mr. McGreevey's office as an adviser on government operations.”[4] Cipel resigned from McGreevey’s administration in August 2002.[4]
McGreevey held a press conference on Aug. 12, 2004, after Cipel's lawyer notified McGreevey’s attorneys that he intended to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey.[1] During the press conference, McGreevey stated that he had a consensual extramarital affair with a man whom his aides later identified as Cipel.[1] McGreevey also announced that he would resign from office effective Nov. 15.
On Aug. 12, Cipel released a statement accusing McGreevey of sexual harassment.[2] On Aug. 30, Cipel’s attorneys announced that he would not sue McGreevey.[1]
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 NBC News, "Lawyer: McGreevey’s accuser will not sue," August 30, 2004
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 CNN, "Jim McGreevey Fast Facts," July 24, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 LinkedIn, "Jim McGreevey," accessedNovember 26, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The New York Times, "An Adviser to McGreevey Resigns," August 15, 2002
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