New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill called for Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell to resign after an investigation found he violated state policy through inappropriate sexual misconduct and harassment. The report, released Thursday, detailed incidents including crude comments towards a female staffer and seeking promotions for employees with whom he had romantic relationships. Sherrill gave Caldwell until the following day to step down from his position.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill called for the resignation of her handpicked Lieutenant Governor, Dale Caldwell, after an independent investigation found he had violated state ethics rules and committed sexual harassment. The report detailed incidents including making a sexually charged comment to a female staffer when she rejected his romantic advances towards her younger friend. Investigators concluded this constituted harassment and was not credible for Caldwell to deny. Additionally, the probe uncovered ethical violations such as bringing personal guests to events without proper clearance or payment and attempting to secure promotions for state employees with whom he had romantic relationships.
Sherrill gave Caldwell until Friday to resign, which he did on that day amid mounting pressure from her administration following the release of the report. Caldwell maintained his innocence but resigned to avoid further distraction, despite Sherrill calling his behavior "extremely troubling" and stating it undermined organizational trust. The resignation came as a surprise given the high praise Sherrill had previously heaped upon Caldwell during their campaign.
This development highlights internal administration conflicts that can arise from such allegations, particularly in New Jersey where the governor lacks direct power to remove an independently elected lieutenant governor but can still strip them of responsibilities and seek impeachment through legislative action.
Written for “New Jersey Lt Governor Resigns Over H…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) called for her 2025 running mate, Democratic Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, to resign from her administration after the results of an investigation into his alleged inappropriate sexual misconduct were released Thursday.
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results → call → misconduct
“The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office,” Sherrill said in a statement released Thursday.
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Sherrill → find → statement
“I’m calling for his resignation and giving him until tomorrow to do so.”
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I → call → tomorrow
According to the report, the investigation found that Caldwell made several ethics violations while in office, including making crude comments to a female staffer, seeking a promotion for an employee he had a romantic relationship with, and bringing unauthorized guests to ticketed events.
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he → accord → events
“These violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this Administration,” Sherrill said.
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Sherrill → substantiate → Administration
“The ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings.
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lapses → persist → warnings
I’ve seen firsthand how a hostile culture can undermine everyone’s ability to succeed.
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culture → see → ability
It’s insidious and ruptures the trust within an organization.”
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It → ’ → organization
The report of the investigation’s findings details that Caldwell “made a romantic advance” toward a staffer’s female friend.
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Caldwell → detail → friend
When he was rejected, he told the young female staffer, “You young women are looking for young sperm.”
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women → reject → sperm
The independent investigators wrote in the report that they found Caldwell’s behavior “constituted sexual harassment, and was derogatory or demeaning in reference to the staffer’s sex.”
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behavior → write → sex
According to the report, Caldwell denied making the comment to the female staffer, though the investigators “did not find his denial credible.”
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denial → accord → staffer
The report also detailed that, in response to questions about his attempts to promote an employee with whom he had a romantic relationship, Caldwell “admitted to investigators that he did not disclose the romantic nature of his relationship with the state employee while making these promotion requests.”
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he → detail → requests
The investigation was conducted by Lowenstein Sandler, the law firm of former state Attorney General Christopher Porrino.
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investigation → conduct → Porrino
In a May letter to the State Ethics Commission shared in the report, Caldwell called the ethics violation accusations against him “inaccurate, misleading, and completely false.”
“I fully welcome a fair, objective, and professional review of these allegations by the attorneys and investigators assigned to this matter because I am confident that the facts will fully clear my name,” Caldwell wrote in the May letter.
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Caldwell → share → letter
Caldwell has not publicly commented on the investigation or Sherrill’s call for him to resign.
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him → comment → investigation
In addition to serving as New Jersey’s lieutenant governor, Caldwell is a pastor at the Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey.
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Caldwell → serve → Plainfield
Sherrill picked Caldwell as her running mate in July 2025 and named him as her administration’s secretary of state in December 2025 after the pair won their November election by a double-digit margin.
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pair → pick → margin
Before winning the November 2025 election, Caldwell had not served in a political office and was instead president of Centenary University.
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Caldwell → win → University
The Aporia
