If you live in New Jersey, I don’t have to tell you we’re choosing a new governor. But how should I vote? I used ChatGPT to help me learn about the candidates and make an informed decision.

The primary election is tomorrow, June 10. Incumbent Phil Murphy is term limited. While Mikie Sherrill leads, it’s anyone’s race at this point.

In local elections, it can be tough to find information about the candidates. But AI can do the research for me, scouring the internet for every piece of info on these pols.

I used a heavily “engineered” prompt to find info on the candidates. I told ChatGPT my priorities in terms of issues. Then I instructed it to give me the info in a table format. This will let me easily compare the candidates.

Here’s what ChatGPT found…

Crime, Bail Reform, and ICE

My #1 issue is crime. If we’re not safe, nothing else matters.

So first, I asked ChatGPT about crime and bail reform. The details here were slim, but Fulop stands out for his record of reducing crime in Jersey City. Score one for the mayor!

Cooperation with ICE has been controversial in New Jersey, with Newark mayor and gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka getting arrested in a protest at a detention facility. I want to see full cooperation with ICE, removing dangerous illegal aliens from our state.

None of the Democratic candidates are taking a strong pro-ICE stand. Steve Sweeney seems a bit better than most, opposing a bill to stop ICE cooperation. But none are pledging to work closely with Trump on this issue.

Overall, none of the Democrats align with my views exactly. But given his great work reducing crime as mayor, I’m giving this round to Fulop.

The Housing Crisis

New Jersey is one of the most expensive states in America. Next, ChatGPT gave me an overview of how each candidate will address the housing crisis.

Most candidates don’t have a clear plan. Here’s my plan: build like crazy.

The only candidate who stood out in this round was Fulop. If you look at Jersey City’s skyline, you can see Fulop’s work — it’s grown enormously in his 12 years in office.

Fulop wants to double the rate of affordable housing statewide, which would do a lot to help the average man. All that construction also creates a ton of jobs.

I’m giving this round to Fulop as well.

Taxes

NJ has much higher taxes than most of America. That makes it hard to compete with no tax states like Texas and Florida.

Sweeney has pledged not to increase taxes. Josh Gottheimer goes further, with plans for a 15% property tax cut.

Fulop seems to be the only candidate who wants to raise taxes.

He wants to extend a 2.5% tax on business profits over $1 million. This discourages companies from doing business in our state and takes jobs away from our neighbors.

This round goes to Gottheimer.

Education

Only one candidate has made education a core message: Sean Spiller.

Spiller is the president of the state teacher’s union. It’s safe to assume he’d increase school funding. He also wants free pre-kindergarten statewide.

While Spiller’s plans could have some benefits, they’d also cost us a fortune. What’s more, a teacher’s union president is not going to advocate for needed reforms, like charter schools.

I’m calling this round a draw.

Wrap-Up

Given the lack of substantive info out there on these elections, ChatGPT did a great job. Having a tool to do research and put the results in a standard format in one place is incredibly valuable.

If you use AI to help you vote, I encourage you to read through the sources it cites and do some Googling as well. This helps you verify the info AI is giving you.

We need more reporting on these elections. We also need politicians to answer tough questions. This will make it easier for citizens to decide.

So, who did I vote for?

With strong stances on crime and housing, Steve Fulop got my vote. He may not be perfect, but if he can do for the state what he’s done for Jersey City, he’ll go down in history as one of our greatest governors.

I’m also looking forward to hearing from the Republicans in the general election. I just might switch teams come November!

More on politics:

Three Priorities for the Trump Administration

Six Ways Trump’s Win Will Change America

How DOGE Can Destroy All Opposition

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