Gov. Mikie Sherrill has told Dale Caldwell to resign as lieutenant governor by tomorrow after a scathing internal report substantiated allegations of ethics violations and sexual harassment.
“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 stated. ” I’m calling for his resignation and giving him until tomorrow to do so.”
The 61-page report delivered to Sherrill on Wednesday details claims that he sexually harassed a female staffer by making a comment about “young sperm,” and that he violated state ethics rules by bringing personal guests to ticketed events without paying or reimbursing their admission, and by using his office to seek a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship, without disclosing that relationship.
Investigators from the Lowenstein law firm found a female staffer’s account credible that Caldwell made a romantic advance toward her younger friend at an official event. The staffer said Caldwell later continued asking about the friend. During an April car ride, after being told the woman was not interested in him, Caldwell allegedly said that the staffer, her friend, and similarly successful women needed men who could help them, “but you young women are looking for young sperm.”
The incident was called “textbook sexual harassment” by a staffer who was interviewed about what another staffer had said.
Caldwell denied making the remark. Investigators did not find his denial credible and concluded the sexual comment was derogatory or demeaning based on sex and constituted sexual harassment under the state workplace policy. The staffer said she subsequently changed how she interacted with Caldwell and avoided traveling with him when possible.
But the woman said she made eye contact with the trooper in the rearview mirror, changed the subject, and took a photograph of a nearby statue to timestamp the incident. Investigators later examined the photograph and its metadata, which corroborated its date, time, and location.
The report also documents Caldwell acknowledging that he told staff he wanted to find a “first lady,” although he claimed he was joking. Several witnesses recalled versions of the remark; one staffer said Caldwell actually tasked her with finding him one and was “pushy” about it.
Among the most damning of the accusations leveled at Caldwell verbally advocated for the woman’s promotion to one executive-branch official. Then, on May 26 — four days after Caldwell had been formally notified that he was under investigation — he used his state email account to contact another official and again suggested that she be promoted.
Caldwell admitted to investigators that he did not disclose the romantic nature of their relationship while making the requests. State ethics rules prohibit an official from participating in an official matter involving someone with whom the official is dating. Investigators therefore substantiated violations of both the Uniform Ethics Code and the governor’s Code of Conduct.
The report also shows that concerns about Caldwell’s behavior reached senior administration officials nearly two months before the anonymous complaint that triggered the investigation. Caldwell was directly warned on March 25 about what an adviser described as a “concerning pattern” in his approaches to women, and senior officials confronted him again on May 1.
But the report also detailed conflicting testimony.
Some staffers and Caldwell’s state trooper said they had never personally seen him proposition women or behave improperly. Caldwell’s senior adviser said he was with Caldwell almost every day and had never witnessed romantic advances.
Caldwell staunchly denied wrongdoing in his May 28 written response to the chief ethics officer in the governor’s office, Christina Fullum. He called the accusations false and misleading, said he had never “hit on” or romantically pursued anyone while conducting official business, and said he expected the investigation to exonerate him.
“I hold everyone in my Administration to the highest ethical standard,” said Sherrill. “We all have a duty to follow our state ethics and harassment policy and our Code of Conduct. Anyone who violates these will be held accountable.”
Caldwell did not immediately respond to a call and text message.
Administration officials warned Caldwell about conduct toward women before investigation
The report paints a broader picture of an administration that was already concerned about Caldwell’s conduct before the formal investigation.
Staffers described concerns about his interactions with women, his desire for a “first lady,” comments about employees having “executive presence,” and an incident in which he allegedly said that walking with two female staffers — “one on each arm” — made him look good. The two women confirmed substantially similar versions of that last remark, although they interpreted it somewhat differently.
Additionally, investigators identified seven ticketed events between February 19 and May 23 where Caldwell reportedly brought one or more guests who were admitted without payment, plus another event for which investigators could not establish a date. Known ticket values ranged from $65 to $300.
The events included an African American Chamber of Commerce gala, the State Opera of New Jersey, Rowan University’s Rosa Parks Scholarship Luncheon, two April 18 events, Morven Museum & Garden, and a Crossroads Theatre Company event.
Caldwell told investigators that he did not fully understand the rules, considered the issue “gray,” and believed he had done nothing wrong. After learning of the investigation, however, he reimbursed the state $175 for one guest’s attendance at the May 2 Morven event.
Lowenstein concluded that free admission for Caldwell’s family members, friends or dates constituted an impermissible benefit to him under the ethics rules and substantiated violations of the Uniform Ethics Code and the governor’s Code of Conduct.
The investigation did not substantiate every rumor. Investigators could not establish the existence or contents of a rumored inappropriate text message to a female Governor’s office employee and explicitly excluded it from their analysis.
Complaints about Caldwell’s conduct months before the formal anonymous complaint in May.
The earliest specific internal concern identified in the report was during the week of March 16, when a senior Governor’s office official contacted an adviser and said multiple sources had raised concerns about Caldwell’s conduct toward women. On March 25, that adviser spoke directly with Caldwell and told him that several reliable sources had described a concerning pattern in his approaches to women and that the behavior was problematic.
There were then additional warnings. Immediately after Caldwell’s May 1 ethics training, senior officials privately met with him and again expressed concern about his behavior toward women.
“The LG told investigators that these officials warned him, in substance, to be careful because people are watching everything that he does,” the report stated.
The complaint that triggered the formal investigation came shortly afterward as a May 6 anonymous complaint first reported by the New York Times. The chief ethics officer in the governor’s office received that letter on May 14, and Caldwell was formally notified that he was the target of an internal investigation on May 22.
That was about seven weeks after internal concerns about Caldwell’s behavior were documented.
Caldwell received at least five separate trainings, warnings or counseling interventions before the investigation began, including two direct warnings specifically concerning his behavior toward women and repeated guidance about bringing unpaid guests to official events.
Still, his conduct appeared to have continued after remediation efforts; Caldwell brought an unauthorized guest to an event on May 2, one day after another round of ethics training, and again on May 23, one day after he was formally made aware of the investigation into his behavior.
Sherrill said the “violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this administration.”
“The ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings. The substantiated finding of sexual harassment is extremely troubling. I’ve seen firsthand how a hostile culture can undermine everyone’s ability to succeed,” said Sherrill “It’s insidious and ruptures the trust within an organization.”
The governor said “leaders have an obligation to make sure everyone in an organization is bought into the mission and able to succeed.”
“I take that responsibility incredibly seriously,” Sherrill said. “My goal as governor is to empower our hardworking public servants, so they can remain focused on serving our state.”
Former Attorney General Christopher Porrino and his law firm, Lowenstein, were retained by the state on May 21 to conduct an internal investigation.
Sherrill, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, said that she was “committed to ensuring everyone is treated fairly.”
“This investigation was thorough and impartial,” she said. “It was initiated by the Chief Ethics Officer and conducted by a respected former state Attorney General.”
The New Jersey Globe first reported the Caldwell investigation on September 4.
The report redacts the names of interviewed witnesses. The New Jersey Globe has identified some of them, but does not identify people who may have been victims of harassment.
Caldwell has retained Thomas Calcagni, a former federal and state prosecutor, as his personal attorney; former Attorney General Peter Harvey is also advising Caldwell. While Caldwell has made no public statements, he has privately defended himself to friends and allies.
In a text message to a friend, obtained by the New Jersey Globe, Caldwell said he was “in a war with evil.” In another text message, Caldwell accused the Sherrill administration of hiring a law firm to discredit him.
He has had no official public schedule and has held no media availability since news of the investigation broke on the Friday before Labor Day. He has continued to attend events, including one in Washington last week for the Congressional Black Caucus.
The 66-year-old Caldwell, who also serves as Secretary of State, was a relatively obscure Methodist minister and university president who had served on the New Brunswick Board of Education for 26 years when Sherrill picked him as her running mate last year. Sherrill and Caldwell scored a significant 14-point victory in the 2025 gubernatorial election, and the two took office on January 20 – less than eight months ago.
This story was updated at 7:36 PM with comment from Sherrill.