N.J. Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigns after ethics probe; Sherrill names acting secretary of state

TRENTON — The New Jersey Globe reported Friday that Gov. Mikie Sherrill accepted Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell’s resignation after an independent ethics investigation substantiated sexual harassment and ethics violations — ending Caldwell’s dual role as lieutenant governor and secretary of state less than a day after Sherrill released the findings and demanded he step down.

“He submitted his resignation to me this afternoon, which I accepted,” Sherrill said at a Friday press conference, the New Jersey Globe and NBC News reported. Caldwell was not present.

On Thursday, Sherrill released findings from an investigation initiated by the governor’s chief ethics officer and conducted by former New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino and colleagues at Lowenstein Sandler LLP. In a statement posted on NJ.gov, Sherrill said Caldwell “engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office,” and gave him until Friday to resign.

The Sept. 23 investigation report substantiated three findings:

• Sexual harassment / workplace policy: Investigators found credible evidence that Caldwell made a romantic advance toward a female staffer’s friend and, after that advance was rebuffed, told the staffer that “you young women are looking for young sperm.” The report said the comment was sexual in nature, that Caldwell’s denial was not found credible, and that the conduct constituted sexual harassment under the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace.
• Promotion advocacy without disclosure: The report found Caldwell used his office to seek a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship, without disclosing that relationship — including a May 26 email after he had been formally notified of the probe — in violation of the Uniform Ethics Code and the governor’s Code of Conduct.
• Unpaid guests at ticketed events: Investigators identified seven ticketed events between Feb. 19 and May 23 at which Caldwell brought one or more personal guests admitted without payment or reimbursement. Known ticket prices ranged from $65 to $300, according to the New Jersey Globe’s account of the report.

Sherrill said the ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings, and called the substantiated sexual-harassment finding “extremely troubling.” The New Jersey Globe reported that Caldwell received at least five trainings, warnings, or counseling interventions before the formal investigation began, including direct warnings about his conduct toward women on March 25 and again on May 1.

Caldwell’s attorney, Thomas Calcagni, disputed the findings. In a Thursday night statement quoted by NBC News, Calcagni said counsel “strongly disputed the three findings in the investigation,” arguing the conclusions “go further than the evidence supports” and that the process “lacked the requisite due process.” Caldwell previously denied using his office to pursue women romantically in a May letter to the chief ethics officer, the New Jersey Globe reported.

Caldwell also served as New Jersey’s secretary of state and chief election officer. With the November general election weeks away, Sherrill named Acting State Comptroller Shirley U. Emehelu as Acting Secretary of State to oversee the Department of State and elections. Emehelu previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice and as executive assistant attorney general in New Jersey, according to the Office of the State Comptroller and Sherrill’s Friday remarks.

“New Jersey elections will be conducted freely, fairly and with integrity, every eligible voter will have a chance to cast a ballot, and every legal ballot will be counted,” Emehelu said, according to the New Jersey Globe.

Who replaces Caldwell as lieutenant governor? Sherrill has not named a new lieutenant governor. Under the New Jersey Constitution, Article V, Section I, paragraph 9, when the lieutenant governor’s office becomes vacant by resignation or other cause, “the Governor shall appoint a Lieutenant Governor within forty-five days of the occurrence of the vacancy to fill the unexpired term.” Sherrill said Friday she would begin selecting a successor and indicated she does not plan to name an acting lieutenant governor in the meantime, NBC News and the New Jersey Globe reported.

Until a new lieutenant governor takes office, the line of succession for acting governor when the governor is out of state or otherwise unable to serve falls to the Senate president under Article V, Section I, paragraph 7. Sherrill said Senate President Nicholas Scutari will serve as acting governor whenever she leaves the state, the New Jersey Globe reported.

No official shortlist has been released. In a Sept. 24 analysis published before Caldwell resigned, the New Jersey Globe floated its own speculative names — emphasizing that the list was the outlet’s, not Sherrill’s, and that she had not seen it. Names the Globe raised included Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton; Justin Dews, a Sherrill ally and former Biden White House counsel; state COO Kellie Doucette; former Treasury official and 2017 gubernatorial candidate Jim Johnson; NJ Transit President/CEO Kris Kolluri; former Assistant Attorney General Vaughn McKoy; National Urban League President Marc Morial; Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin; Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson; retired Appellate Division Judge Thomas Sumners Jr.; and Rutgers deputy general counsel Kay Walcott-Henderson. The Globe said some lawmakers, including Sens. Benjie Wimberly, Troy Singleton, and Britnee Timberlake, were unlikely to give up Senate seats for the post. Neither Politico nor the New Jersey Monitor has published a comparable attributed shortlist as of Saturday morning.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, a Democrat, said in a statement quoted by NBC News that Caldwell “was right to resign” after the independent investigation and praised Sherrill’s “commitment to hold public officials to the highest standards.”

Photo: Lt. Governor Elect Dale Caldwell at the transition office in Trenton, N.J., Nov. 12, 2025. (Tim Larsen / Office of the Governor Elect)