The blue state of New Jersey seems to be about to turn red, with new leadership stepping in to strengthen the state’s Republican Party and put in major efforts to bolster election integrity, including Kate Gibbs, the new Executive Director of the NJGOP.
For background, on July 21, 2025, Kate Gibbs announced on social media that she had become the Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican Party, going on to say that she was working with NJGOP Chairman Glenn Paulsen to revitalize the blue state’s Republican presence and officially turn the state red, a declaration made just a few months after it was reported that the GOP was making major gains in voter registration.
In a statement shared on X, Gibbs introduced herself, saying, “I’m proud to be serving as the New Executive Director of the NJGOP!” She added, “Under Chairman Glenn Paulsen’s leadership, we’re taking the fight straight to the New Jersey Democrats.” Gibbs went on to say that her organization is “building a better ground game and working hand-in-hand with the RNC to protect election integrity throughout our state.”
Additionally, Gibbs’ arrival at the NJGOP came a few months after the New Jersey Globe reported that the state’s Republican Party had gained significant ground in terms of voter registration, reporting on January 6, 2025, that the state’s political makeup is now “37.6% Democratic, 37% unaffiliated (sometimes called independents), and 24.3% Republican.”
Importantly, conservative activist Scott Presler is one of the key players in the effort to turn New Jersey red. Speaking about his PAC Early Vote Action, Presler told Politico, “The way that I look at it is, New Jersey has been voting blue for so long, and the definition of insanity is you’re repeating the same thing over and over, and you’re not having success.”
Moreover, Presler said that the people of New Jersey “truly feel forgotten” by the state’s Democratic leadership, adding, “These people truly feel that they are getting the short end of the stick: their businesses, they are overtaxed, their homes, they are overtaxed. They feel the economic burden.”
In a similar vein, Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth University Polling Institute in New Jersey, told NJ Monthly that there has “definitely” been a major shift “from Democrat to Trump in areas that have significant Hispanic and African American populations” in the state, adding, “But in New Jersey and in other states like New York, a lot of Democrats just sat on their hands and didn’t vote.”
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Furthermore, Murray said that there is “no question” that the Democratic “brand” is “not as strong as it has been in the bluest areas of the country, and that includes New Jersey.” Building on his previous point, Murray asked if the lack of Democratic voter mobilization in 2024 was “an endorsement of Donald Trump or a statement about Kamala Harris and the party in power.”
Watch Gibbs’ introduction:
Featured image credit: video screengrab