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Ongoing story / New Jersey

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell's resignation

Overview · reviewed November 12, 2026

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigned in September 2026 after a state investigation found that he had committed ethics violations and engaged in behavior that "constituted sexual harassment," and Gov. Mikie Sherrill demanded that he step down.[1][2]

Read the timeline

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Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 475 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-07 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 480 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 9%, 43 of 479 tracked outlets (12 left, 17 center, 14 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 476 tracked outlets (2 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 471 tracked outlets (3 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 471 tracked outlets (1 left, 5 center, 0 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)1506 of 4711%
Nov 2, 20263003 of 4711%
Sep 28, 20262002 of 476under 1%
Sep 21, 202612171443 of 4799%
Sep 7, 20261012 of 480under 1%
Aug 31, 20262215 of 4751%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 6, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Pix11

    New Jersey's new lieutenant governor draws support and calls for more representation

Background

An investigation into New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, who also served as secretary of state, began in May 2026 after the state's chief ethics officer received an anonymous letter about his conduct, and an outside law firm examined allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women.[1][3] When the results were released in September, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, whose running mate he had been in 2025, said he had committed serious, repeated violations of state policy and called for him to resign.[4] He resigned the next day.[1] Hours after he stepped down, his church's bishop told colleagues of a church investigation into his conduct.[2] In November, Sherrill appointed Shirley U. Emehelu to succeed him as lieutenant governor and secretary of state.[5]

Supporting stories (5)
  1. NJ Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigns after ethics investigation
  2. Former N.J. Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell faces another investigation into his conduct — this time by his church
  3. New Jersey's Lt. Governor under investigation for alleged misconduct
  4. New Jersey's lieutenant governor resigns after sexual harassment and ethics complaints
  5. Sherrill names Shirley Emehelu as New Jersey's new lieutenant governor

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 5 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Sherrill names Shirley Emehelu as New Jersey's new lieutenant governorHeadline from NBC New York · 9 outlets

October 2026

  1. Former N.J. Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell faces another investigation into his conduct — this time by his churchHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 2 outlets

September 2026

  1. NJ Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigns after ethics investigationHeadline from FOX 5 New York · 18 outlets
  2. New Jersey's lieutenant governor resigns after sexual harassment and ethics complaintsHeadline from PBS NewsHour · 32 outlets
  3. New Jersey's Lt. Governor under investigation for alleged misconductHeadline from 6ABC Philadelphia · 6 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →