Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill's Running Mate To Be Secretary Of State

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor

December 4, 2025

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill announced Monday that running mate and Lt. Gov.-elect Dale Caldwell will serve as secretary of state when the two take office next month.

Sherrill, a Democrat, told reporters that Caldwell had been vying for the job since their first meeting during her campaign to become governor. The two appeared Monday at Delta’s, a restaurant in Caldwell’s hometown of New Brunswick.

“He served in state government before and knew that, given his background, as he sometimes says, in bringing together small actors in the community, small businesses, small churches, small nonprofits, that he really felt there was an opportunity in the state department,” Sherrill said.

Caldwell is the first person to be named to Sherrill’s cabinet.

In New Jersey, the lieutenant governor also serves as the head of a department, and two of Caldwell’s lieutenant governor predecessors have also served as secretary of state. Caldwell will be New Jersey’s fourth lieutenant governor when he takes office Jan. 20.

The secretary of state oversees state government offices supporting New Jersey’s arts, history, and business communities, in addition to overseeing state elections.

Caldwell said he would enhance transparency in elections by ordering votes counted faster, addressing intimidation at polling sites, and allowing people to quickly challenge contested votes in front of judges.

Caldwell previously served as a deputy commissioner at the Department of Community Affairs. Most recently, he was president of Centenary University in Hackettstown and also served on the New Brunswick school board for over 25 years.

On the campaign trail and on Monday, he invoked his father, the late Rev. Gilbert Caldwell, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr.

“This is a time when we have an assault from an administration on trying to do everything they can, and so often unconstitutionally, to really interrupt our election process,” Caldwell said.

He joined the Sherrill campaign in July and now also co-chairs her transition team.

Sherrill said Caldwell will work on improving business development and tourism in New Jersey. He’ll cut “red tape” for the state’s businesses and ensure New Jersey is prepared for the World Cup in 2026, he added.

“You are going to see some really interesting things happening in the Department of State, from a community-up level, so it’s kind of exciting,” Caldwell said.

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