New Jersey Governor Gives Her Lieutenant Governor a Day to Resign Over Harassment Finding
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said an independent investigation found Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell sexually harassed a young staffer and repeatedly broke state ethics rules. His lawyers say the report goes further than the evidence.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Thursday night called on her own lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell, to resign, saying an independent investigation found he sexually harassed a young female staffer and committed "serious, repeated violations of state policy." She gave him until Friday to step down.
"Today, I'm announcing the conclusion and findings of an independent investigation into allegations regarding Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell," Sherrill wrote on X. "The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office. I'm calling for his resignation and giving him until tomorrow to do so."
Caldwell, a Democrat, was elected on the ticket with Sherrill in November 2025. The state said earlier this month that it had hired an outside law firm to look into allegations that he had behaved inappropriately toward women. The resulting 61-page report found that Caldwell sexually harassed a young female staffer and her friend. It also found he broke state ethics rules by trying, "on multiple occasions," to promote a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship, without disclosing it, and by regularly taking personal guests to ticketed events without paying for the tickets.
Sherrill said Caldwell's "ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings." She called the substantiated harassment finding "extremely troubling," adding, "I've seen firsthand how a hostile culture can undermine everyone's ability to succeed. It's insidious and ruptures the trust within an organization." She said his resignation "is necessary and in the best interest of New Jersey residents."
Caldwell has denied the allegations. His lawyer, Thomas Calcagni, said Caldwell "strongly disputed the three findings in the investigation" and that its conclusions "go further than the evidence supports." He called the inquiry "unnecessarily protracted and one-sided," saying it "lacked the requisite due process that should be afforded every citizen of this state." Calcagni said Caldwell was "not provided a meaningful opportunity to address each of these anonymous allegations or offer readily identifiable witnesses who possessed more pertinent, first-hand knowledge of the events in question."
Republicans in Trenton said the matter had dragged on too long. "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," said state Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco, who called the findings "deeply disappointing."
The stakes go beyond the governor's office. Caldwell is only the fourth lieutenant governor in New Jersey history; the post was created by referendum in 2005, and he takes over as acting governor whenever Sherrill is out of state, which he has done numerous times since the investigation began. He also serves as New Jersey's secretary of state, the official who oversees elections, just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and congresswoman, took office in January. Her public ultimatum to her own running mate is a sharp break for a first-year governor, and it leaves Democrats who control the Legislature facing a decision on whether to act if Caldwell refuses to leave by Friday's deadline.
