Jim McGreevey loses Jersey City mayoral runoff to James Solomon

A month after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was defeated by democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral election, another disgraced former governor seeking political redemption by running for mayor was defeated by a younger, progressive candidate.

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who was running for mayor of Jersey City, the state’s second-largest city, failed in a runoff election on Tuesday.

McGreevey, 68, lost to Assemblyman James Solomon, 41, according to the Associated Press.

The two candidates, both Democrats, received the most votes among seven candidates in last month’s non-partisan general elections in the left-leaning city. However, since no candidate won a majority of the votes, McGreevey and Solomon faced each other in a runoff election.

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Solomon will replace Jersey Mayor Steven Fulop, whose 2025 bid for governor of the Garden State ended in defeat in June’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The mayor-elect was first elected to the council in 2017 after serving as an adjunct professor in Jersey City. He previously worked in the offices of longtime Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker, now a U.S. senator.

MCGREEVEY, SOLOMAN CONTINUE FOR SECOND ELECTION

McGreevey, once a state lawmaker, was elected governor in 2001. But he resigned in 2004 and came out as gay after saying he had an extramarital affair with a male employee he called New Jersey’s homeland security adviser. The adviser denied having an affair with the governor and claimed she was sexually harassed.

Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey returned to Garden State politics this year with a run to become Jersey City’s next mayor. (Jim Spellman/WireImage)

McGreevey now describes himself as a “champion of second chances,” noting that he serves as executive director of a nonprofit organization that provides services to people trying to adjust to society, addiction treatment or combat duty after serving time in prison.

McGreevey’s failed attempt at a political second chance follows Cuomo’s failed bid.

Independent mayoral candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to the press after voting at the polling place at the High School of Art and Design in the Manhattan borough of New York City on November 4, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 after multiple scandals, ran for mayor of New York this year. But he lost the Democratic primary in June to Mamdani.

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The former governor, who ran as an independent in last month’s general elections, lost to Mamdani for the second time.