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NJ governor asks Caldwell, her second in command, to resign
By
Mike Hayes
and
Charles Lane
Published Sep 24, 2026
Modified Sep 24, 2026
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Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
and
Charles Lane
Published Sep 24, 2026
Modified Sep 24, 2026
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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Thursday asked her lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell, to resign from office by Friday, following an investigation that found he made female members of his staff uncomfortable, including a sexual harassment complaint that was substantiated by investigators.
A 61-page report Sherrill released late Thursday concluded that Caldwell asked a female senior staffer whether her friend was single and that if the woman was ambitious, she “needed a man who was in a position to help them.”
“The lieutenant governor’s resignation is necessary and in the best interest of New Jersey residents,” Sherrill said in a statement.
Thomas Calcagni of Calcagni and Kanefsky, a law firm representing Caldwell, disputed the report's findings and said its “conclusions go further than the evidence supports.”
“The question is not simply whether investigators believed one person over another,” Calcagni said in a written statement. “The question is whether the evidence actually proves that a violation occurred. In our view, the evidence does not support these findings.”
The statement did not say whether Caldwell plans to heed Sherrill’s request to resign.
If Caldwell does not resign, the only way to remove him as lieutenant governor under New Jersey's state constitution would be for the legislature to do so through an impeachment by a majority of assemblymembers, and then a conviction by two-thirds of state senators.
The report’s findings come nearly three weeks after it was revealed that Caldwell was under investigation over the allegations by an outside law firm tapped by Sherrill to conduct the probe. Former New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino and other attorneys from the firm Lowenstein Sandler have reviewed complaints against Caldwell and interviewed the lieutenant governor and witnesses, including a whistleblower from Caldwell’s staff.
Investigators also found that the lieutenant governor engaged in ethics violations, including granting his romantic partner, daughter and a friend free admission to ticketed events, and that he asked officials in other state agencies to help get his girlfriend a job.
The statement from Caldwell’s attorneys seemed to acknowledge he’d had a personal relationship with a state employee and passed along her resume. But his attorney said the evidence “does not establish that Dr. Caldwell used his office to obtain a government benefit for the individual,” that she didn’t receive a promotion or benefit and that she’s since left state government.
“There is a difference between failing to disclose a personal relationship when forwarding the resume of a qualified job applicant and actually using the power of public office to secure a job or financial benefit for someone,” the statement said.
The sexual harassment findings date to April 2026 and allegedly took place in the back of a state police car. According to the report, Caldwell joked about young women not being interested in older men.
“Young women are looking for young sperm,” Caldwell reportedly said.
The female staffer told investigators that she photographed a statue to record a timestamp of the conversation. The state trooper driving the car said he did not hear the conversation, but investigators interviewed a second female staffer who said the first staffer told her about the encounter and called it “textbook sexual harassment."
Caldwell denied making the remark even as a joke, but investigators concluded “we did not find his denial credible.”
The embattled second-in-command to Sherrill has not spoken publicly since news of the investigation surfaced the Friday before Labor Day. In May, Caldwell sent a letter to Christina Fullam, New Jersey’s chief ethics officer, denying he “pursued anyone romantically” while working as lieutenant governor.”
Sherrill has faced criticism from Republican state legislators over her administration’s handling of the Caldwell affair. Sherrill never fully acknowledged the investigation was happening. She released a brief statement earlier this month that didn’t name Caldwell but called on anyone with additional allegations to come forward.
Separately, Sherrill’s administration is dealing with an investigation into how 6,600 noncitizens in New Jersey were wrongly registered to vote during Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration.
Along with his role as lieutenant governor, Caldwell serves as secretary of state, making him the chief election officer in New Jersey. In that position, he oversees the state’s Division of Elections, which is responsible for maintaining the voter rolls.
Democratic state legislative leaders did not immediately respond to the report Thursday evening, but Jersey City Mayor James Solomon, a Democrat, called on Caldwell to resign.
Republicans seized on the report to blast Sherrill.
“Gov. Sherrill cannot handle a crisis in her own administration by disappearing for weeks and then dropping a report after business hours on a Thursday night,” Assembly Republican leader John DiMaio said in a statement. “She owes the public answers in real time. What did she know about the warnings to Caldwell, when did she know it, and why was he allowed to remain in office while this dragged on?”
Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco added in a statement that Caldwell had reportedly served as acting governor while Sherrill was out of state 18 times while the ethics investigation was ongoing.
“This situation has gone on for far too long, and if he doesn’t agree to resign, the legislature should follow the necessary protocols to resolve this matter once and for all,” Bucco said.
This is a developing story and has been updated. Michael Sol Warren contributed reporting.
Tagged
Politics
new jersey
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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