New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Sept. 25 announced that Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigned from his position amid allegations in an ethics report that claimed he violated state sexual harassment policies.
In a news conference, the Democratic governor said that she accepted Caldwell’s resignation and that the report found he allegedly violated state policy and engaged in sexual harassment.
Caldwell, Sherrill said, had “failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office” and also “demonstrated a pattern of behavior” that isn’t consistent with her administration.
The governor thanked Caldwell for his work on the campaign trail and his work with the black community in New Jersey.
A day earlier, Sherrill said that he “engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office” while calling for his resignation.
Caldwell’s lawyer, Thomas Calcagni, disputed the allegations on Sept. 24, calling the investigation a one-sided operation that did not include necessary due process.
“The Lieutenant Governor was not provided a meaningful opportunity to address each of these anonymous allegations,” he said in a statement.
According to the 61-page ethics report, the investigation found that Caldwell made an advance toward a female staffer’s friend and allegedly made a crude remark to the staffer, adding that it amounted to sexual harassment.
The comment, described in the report as “sexual in nature,” then “caused the staffer to change the way she interacted with” Caldwell at work, the report said.
The staffer also attempted “to distance herself from him and to avoid travel with him when possible,” according to the report on the investigation, which was conducted by a law firm commissioned by the governor’s office.
Caldwell told investigators that he asked whether the friend of the staffer was single, said she was very attractive, and asked for the friend’s phone number, according to the report. He denied making the sexual remark.
Calcagni said on Sept. 24 that Caldwell had categorically denied making the comment and that a state police trooper who was present at the time of the alleged incident did not hear it.
In the report, Caldwell was also accused of violating state ethics policies by bringing personal guests to approximately seven ticketed events without getting the proper approval or paying for their admission.
“The reported ticket costs, where known, ranged from $65 to $300,” the report said.
In another alleged ethics violation, Caldwell attempted to get a staff member with whom he had a personal relationship promoted, according to the report. His attorney denied the claim, saying the person in question had the qualifications.
“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,” Calcagni said in the statement.
In her Sept. 25 news conference, the governor announced that Shirley Emehelu will be the acting secretary of state for New Jersey while Sherrill considers naming a new lieutenant governor.
Caldwell was elected along with Sherrill in November 2025 and took office in January. As New Jersey’s lieutenant governor, he was first in line to succeed Sherrill if she were removed from office or became incapacitated in some way.
Under state law, Sherrill had no capacity to fire Caldwell, although she can remove or assign him from certain responsibilities. The state Legislature would have had to impeach and remove him.
Caldwell also oversaw elections as New Jersey’s secretary of state, leaving the state’s chief elections office vacant weeks before the midterm elections. Thirty minutes after Sherill announced Caldwell’s resignation, she appointed Emehelu to serve as acting secretary of state. Emehelu, who has no previous experience overseeing elections, is a former state and federal prosecutor and was the acting comptroller.
Calcagni did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sept. 25.
Aldgra Fredly, Jill McLaughlin, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A previous version of this article misspelled the name of acting New Jersey Secretary of State Shirley Emehelu. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
