Newark 2026 Mayor, Council Election: See Who Is On The Ballot In NJ's Largest City

NEWARK, NJ — A high-profile election has arrived in New Jersey’s largest city.

Newark residents will vote for mayor and several city council seats in a nonpartisan municipal election on Tuesday, May 12. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Candidates don’t declare political parties in nonpartisan elections. A runoff election between the top two vote-getters will take place on June 9 if no candidate receives a majority in their race.

Find local polling places, see if you’re registered, and learn more about voting in New Jersey here. See sample ballots from the Essex County Clerk’s Office here.

Here’s who is running this year in Newark (click names to learn more about each candidate):

MAYOR

Ras Baraka will face a challenge from seven candidates in the 2026 mayor race: Debra Salters, Douglas Davis, Jhamar Youngblood, Noble Milton, Tanisha Garner, Nasheedah Singleton, and Sheila Montague.

Newark mayoral hopefuls spoke about their campaigns at a “candidate conversation” event on May 4. Watch video footage from the event here.

>> RELATED: Newark Mayor Candidates Meet For Election Event As Race Enters Home Stretch

AT-LARGE COUNCIL RACE

Four at-large city council seats are up for grabs on May 12.

A total of 19 candidates are running for at-large seats on the council, including three incumbents: Louise Scott-Rountree, Luis Quintana, and C. Lawrence Crump.

The challengers are: Joanette Hinnant, Donna Jackson, Nadirah Brown, Pablo Olivera, Malik Cooper, Yusuf Shabazz, Lamont Vaughn, Rasheen Peppers, Altarik White, Alonzo Herran Jr., Christina Cherry, Maria Lebron, Lynda Lloyd, Khalil Kettles, Josephine Garcia, and Edden Rivera.

COUNCIL WARD RACES

Meanwhile, 15 candidates will duke it out for council seats in their respective wards.

Michael Silva is running unopposed in the East Ward. The list of other candidates includes:

• Central Ward: Amina Bey (incumbent), Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins
• North Ward: Anibal Ramos Jr. (incumbent), Marcos Sanchez
• South Ward: Patrick Council (incumbent), Asia Norton, Donald Jackson, Willie Jetti, Lonnie Baker, Abdush Ahmad, Trenton Jones
• West Ward: Dupre Kelly (incumbent), Malcolm X. Outlaw, Jimmy McCoy, Muta El-Amin

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.