James Solomon is elected Jersey City mayor, turning away ex-NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey’s comeback bid

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — James Solomon was elected mayor of Jersey City on Tuesday, thwarting former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey’s bid for a political comeback more than two decades after a scandalous resignation.

Addressing supporters who had gathered to watch returns and cheer him on, Solomon said: “Now the mission is clear, and the work begins tonight. And the work we have to do is making Jersey City affordable. So I say tonight, an affordable Jersey City starts now.”

Solomon, a city council member since 2017, defeated McGreevey in a runoff after they finished first and second in an initial round of voting Nov. 4. with seven candidates on the ballot. The city’s election is nonpartisan, but both men are Democrats.

At a gathering less than a mile away, McGreevey thanked supporters and congratulated Solomon on his victory.

“There’s nothing I would change in this campaign,” McGreevey said, adding that he’d walked every block in the small city and visited every one of its churches, mosques and temples while getting to know its people. “Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your welcome. And thank you for your hospitality.”

Solomon, 41, said he ran for mayor to make New Jersey’s second-largest city more affordable, echoing national concerns about the cost of living. New development catering to affluent New York City commuters is driving overall prices higher, and the city is struggling with a budget shortfall that threatens to hike property taxes.

His victory comes a month after New York City’s mayor-elect, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, won on an affordability platform over another ex-governor looking to make a comeback, Andrew Cuomo.

The Jersey City race gained national attention because of McGreevey’s candidacy.

It was the first time he was running for public office since resigning as governor in 2004 — a stunning announcement remembered mostly for the spectacle of him declaring: “I am a gay American.”

McGreevey’s exit was driven in part by controversy over his decision to hire a man he said was his lover, former Israeli naval officer Golan Cipel, as the state’s homeland security adviser in 2002 despite Cipel’s lack of qualifications and inability to obtain necessary security clearances.

In his victory remarks, Solomon thanked McGreevey for his candidacy, but on the campaign trail he’d said that the former governor represented the “politics of the past.”

“There were just scandal after scandal after scandal,” Solomon said in a recent interview. “That, to me, is disqualifying.”

Jersey City, a swath of high-rises and immigrant neighborhoods, has about 303,000 residents and a municipal budget of about $700 million. Across the Hudson River from Manhattan, it’s in an area sometimes referred to as the Sixth Borough.

The current mayor, Steven Fulop, made an unsuccessful bid for governor and declined to seek a fourth term.

Solomon has vowed to take on developers and special interests, invest in public safety and work with the independent board of education to improve the city’s schools. He said he plans to build on legislation he passed as a council member, including banning rent-hiking algorithms and ensuring that tenants have a right to legal counsel.

Solomon and McGreevey both vowed to stand up to President Donald Trump, whose administration is suing to end Jersey City’s so-called sanctuary city protections for immigrants.

Solomon grew up in nearby Millburn, has a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and was an aide to former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

He moved to Jersey City in 2013, is married and has three daughters.

In 2015, about a month after his wedding, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Now in full remission, he told The AP in an interview that that challenge inspired him to run for public office.

“I had one of these life-is-short moments, Solomon said. ”I was like, ‘you know, I think I can do something I can give back to Jersey City, because Jersey City really had my back during my toughest time.’”

Solomon said he plans to hire 100 new police officers and supports creating a civilian complaint review board for Jersey City, akin to the police oversight agency in New York City, which would give residents an hand in investigating police misconduct.

He said he’ll appoint a deputy mayor for education to coordinate between the city and the school district, which is independent of the municipal government.

After the race narrowed to a runoff, Solomon received endorsements from three of the other candidates. He was also backed by U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Even McGreevey got in on the act, saying at a recent debate: “James Solomon is an incredibly likable young guy. And in four years, he’ll be a great mayor.”

On Tuesday, voters declared that Solomon’s time is now.

Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon speaks during a watch party after winning the mayoral election, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon speaks to his supporters after winning the mayoral election during a watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon gestures during his speech at a watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon celebrates after winning the mayoral election during a watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon gestures during his speech at a watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

This combination image shows Jim McGreevey, left, in Trenton, N.J., Jan. 10, 2023, and James Solomon, Nov. 25, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Frank Franklin II, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was set to address the nation Wednesday night and offer an update on the war in Iran, his first prime-time speech since launching strikes alongside Israel more than a month ago.

The speech will offer Trump a wide audience to articulate clear objectives for the war that could attempt to reconcile weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.

It comes amid rising oil prices, volatile financial markets and polling showing many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran — even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks 4 1/2 weeks ago, and questions now remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through.

A White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the address and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will talk about the U.S. progress on achieving his goals in Iran and will reiterate his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks.

In a social media post Wednesday morning, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president has also said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz — an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it didn’t open the strait by April 6.

In another post, he claimed that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn’t clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.

Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”

Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to U.S. citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the U.S. withdrew from that path. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.

Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.

Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.

Adding to the confusion is what role Israel — which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.

Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war that has been pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.

The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. And in a report last week by Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster, an anonymous official was quoted as saying Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.

In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”

He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”

In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, U.S. officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf won't be targeted, according to three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

A cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. The crew was evacuated and no casualties were reported. A Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai the day before, one of more than 20 ships attacked by Iran during the war.

In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country’s seven emirates.

In Kuwait, the state-run KUNA news agency said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire.

Jordan’s military said it intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones fired from Iran in the last 24 hours. No casualties were reported. Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia.

Very early on Thursday, Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles at the country, the first time of the day.

In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war.

More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million displaced, according to authorities. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

Grambell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)