Middletown Introduces Circus Liquors Redevelopment Ordinance

A Democratic fundraising advantage in a Republican county. A sheriff’s challenger reporting more money raised while the incumbent holds more cash. An independent campaign in a heavily Democratic corner of the state.

Those are some of the patterns that emerge when New Jersey’s county races are viewed through the records in Public Record NJ’s new Data section. Campaign-finance reports show the resources candidates and committees disclose. Voter registration describes the electorate. Recent election results provide additional political context.

Read together, the records highlight several county races where the numbers tell different stories. County party committee filings add another layer of context about the resources available to the broader local organizations, although those totals are not specific to any one race.

Here are five to follow ahead of November.

The Middletown Township Committee is scheduled to introduce an ordinance Monday that would adopt a redevelopment plan for the Circus Liquors property on Route 35, beginning the municipal approval process required by a court-approved affordable housing settlement.

Ordinance 2026-3544 is the first local legislative step toward allowing as many as 450 homes on the property, including 68 affordable units if the full project is built. Introduction would not amount to final adoption or development approval.

The action matters because the New Jersey Superior Court has set a November 10 deadline for Middletown to adopt the plan and take other steps needed to implement the settlement of a builder’s remedy lawsuit filed more than three years ago by AAMHMT Property LLC.

Who is running in New Jersey’s November 2026 general election? How much have candidates and political committees raised and spent? How has voter registration changed across the state?

The records needed to answer those questions are public, but they are spread across different agencies, reports and filing systems. Understanding them often means finding the right records, accounting for different reporting periods and connecting information that was not published together.

Public Record NJ’s new Data section brings that information into a set of interactive visualizations and searchable records. The initial collection includes November 2026 general election candidates, state, local and federal campaign finance, and New Jersey voter registration trends (2019-2026).

The data can be approached from different directions. Start with a county or congressional district, find the candidates running in a race, compare reported campaign finances, or look at how voter registration has changed over time. Source information and methodology accompany the data so the figures can be traced back to the public records behind them.

UPDATE, SEP 25, 2026, 5 P.M.: Dale Caldwell has resigned.

An independent investigation commissioned by the Governor’s Office substantiated sexual harassment and two ethics violations involving Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, prompting Governor Mikie Sherrill to call for his resignation. Investigators found that Caldwell told a staffer that “you young women are looking for young sperm,” a remark he denied making, and concluded that the comment violated state workplace policy.

As first reported by the New Jersey Globe, the investigation was underway before the final report became public, with few details publicly disclosed. The September 23, 2026, report provides the evidence supporting the three findings, including witness accounts, documents and Caldwell’s responses.