Pay to play: NJ public contractors poured record $18 million into politics in 2025

The record came after New Jersey relaxed pay-to-play restrictions. Contractor giving tied to the governor’s race soared.

New Jersey businesses with public contracts gave more than $18 million into political campaigns and committees in 2025, setting a record for reported contributions in a year when relaxed pay-to-play restrictions were in effect for the first time for a gubernatorial election.

The $18 million-plus total was the highest since public contractors began filing annual disclosure reports with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, or ELEC, in 2007, according to an analysis released Wednesday. It was nearly 87% higher than in 2022, the year before a major overhaul of New Jersey’s campaign finance laws took effect.

The increase came after the so-called “Elections Transparency Act” of 2023 loosened restrictions that had limited political contributions from government contractors since the mid-2000s. Under the revised law, contractors can contribute as much as other donors without jeopardizing contracts awarded through a “fair and open” process that requires public notice.

What the numbers show

• More than $18 million: Public contractors’ political contributions in 2025, the highest total since annual reporting began.
• Nearly 87%: The increase from 2022, the year before the Elections Transparency Act took effect.
• $1,791: The average contractor contribution in 2025, another record since annual business entity reports began.
• $2.4 million: Contractor money that went to gubernatorial candidates and committees in 2025.
• Nearly 16 times: How much larger gubernatorial-related contractor contributions were in 2025 than in the 2021 governor’s race.
• $16.6 billion: The value of public contracts reported by businesses for 2025.
• 28,075: The number of contracts reported, an all-time high.
• 1,933: The number of businesses filing reports, down 12% from the previous year and near the lowest level since reporting began.

The governor’s race saw a dramatic increase in contributions

Contractors gave nearly $2.4 million to gubernatorial candidates and related committees in 2025. That’s nearly twice the roughly $1.3 million they gave in the four previous gubernatorial elections combined, according to ELEC.

Compared with the 2021 governor’s race alone, the increase was even more striking: Contractor contributions tied to the gubernatorial election were nearly 16 times higher in 2025.

The 2025 election was the most expensive in state history, with primary and general election spending totaling $260 million.

Contractor contributions represented only a small fraction of that $260 million. But the sharp increase stands out when compared with previous gubernatorial elections. Twelve percent of all contractor contributions were directly tied to the gubernatorial election in 2025, up from 2% in 2021.

Recipient	Contractor contributions	Candidate supported
Change NJ Inc.	$832,700	Jack Ciattarelli
Mikie Sherrill for Governor	$354,435	Mikie Sherrill
Ciattarelli for Governor	$319,790	Jack Ciattarelli
Kitchen Table Conservatives	$282,800	Jack Ciattarelli
One Giant Leap PAC	$241,854	Mikie Sherrill
Coalition for Progress	$104,900	Steven Fulop
Rebuilding New Jersey	$75,000	Bill Spadea
Steve Sweeney for Governor	$41,400	—
Ras Baraka for Governor	$36,668	—
Josh Gottheimer for Governor	$19,000	—
Others	$76,618	—
Total	$2,385,163

Who received the contractor money in the governor’s race?

ELEC identified nearly $2.4 million in contractor contributions to gubernatorial candidates and committees. The largest single recipient was Change NJ Inc., which supported Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s candidate committee received $354,435, while One Giant Leap PAC, which supported her, received another $241,854.

A relatively small group of businesses supplied a lot of the money

Contractor giving was heavily concentrated among the largest contributors.

The 10 businesses with the most contributions accounted for 31% of all contractor contributions, donating a combined $5.6 million. Eight of those 10 businesses were engineering firms, according to ELEC. The other two were an insurance agency and a transportation company.

One number immediately jumps out: Uber contributed more than $1.1 million, making it the largest contractor contributor identified by ELEC, despite reporting about $8.5 million in contracts. By comparison, Consulting & Municipal Engineers reported nearly $86 million in contracts and contributed about $864,000.

The figures do not necessarily represent checks written directly by the companies. ELEC notes that its totals can include contributions by management-level employees as well as contributions by the business entities themselves.

Where else did the money go?

The governor’s race was only part of the picture.

Political action committees and independent expenditure groups, often known as super PACs, collectively received more than $3.9 million, making them the largest category of recipients.

County political parties were close behind at about $3.8 million, while municipal council candidates received about $2.4 million and state Assembly candidates about $1.5 million.

Sixteen committees that each collected at least $200,000 from contractors accounted for nearly one-third of all contractor contributions. They included gubernatorial groups, state and county political parties, and candidates and slates in the Jersey City mayor’s race.

Among the largest recipients outside the gubernatorial groups were the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, with $569,850; the Democratic Committee of Bergen County, with $559,100; and Jim McGreevey and his Jersey City slate, with a combined $375,500. The New Jersey Democratic State Committee received $348,025, while the Ocean County Republican Finance Committee received $281,400.

The 2023 law changed more than contribution limits

The “Elections Transparency Act” didn’t simply make it easier for public contractors to give more money. It also changed what contractors themselves must disclose in their annual reports to ELEC.

Contractors no longer have to list contributions to local, county, and state political parties or state legislative leadership committees in those business disclosure reports. And contributions to independent expenditure groups generally have to be disclosed by contractors only when the group is a 527 political organization directly or indirectly controlled by the contractor, which ELEC says is uncommon.

In other words, contractor reports alone no longer provide the entire picture.

ELEC officials found another $2.6 million in contractor contributions to political parties and legislative leadership committees by examining reports filed by the recipients themselves. It found another $717,350 going to independent expenditure groups.

Together, those contributions totaled about $3.2 million, or 18% of all contractor contributions, and were reported outside the contractors’ annual business entity reports.

Following contractor money now requires looking at multiple sets of campaign finance records rather than relying solely on the contractors’ disclosure reports.

Contractors reported $16.6 billion in government business

Businesses reported about $16.6 billion in public contracts in 2025. That was down 6% from the record $17.7 billion reported in 2024, but 73% above the average since annual disclosure began.

The number of reported contracts reached a record of 28,075, even as the number of businesses filing reports dropped 12% to 1,933. Only 2008 had fewer businesses reporting, according to ELEC.

One company dominates the contract figures: Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and five affiliates reported about $11.4 billion in contracts, representing a substantial majority of the $16.6 billion statewide total. Most of that came from a $9.6 billion Department of Human Services contract to manage health insurance under New Jersey’s Medicaid program.

Contractor	Contributions	Reported contracts
Uber Technologies Inc.	$1,113,400	$8.5 million
Consulting & Municipal Engineers LLC	$864,211	$85.9 million
Remington & Vernick Engineers	$820,100	$78.8 million
Colliers Engineering & Design Inc.	$480,555	$61.8 million
Foundation Risk Partners/Fairview Insurance	$470,485	$2.4 million
Johnston GP Inc./JCT Solutions	$389,550	$31.3 million
Richard A. Alaimo Associates	$374,595	$22.1 million
French & Parrello Associates	$359,150	$18.9 million
T&M Associates	$350,425	$40.8 million
Pennoni Associates Inc.	$339,655	$29.3 million