MONTCLAIR - Mikie Sherrill had just voted at the Hillside Elementary School and was now fielding questions from the press.

She was asked about Democratic enthusiasm, which seemed to be missing last year.

That was 2024, and this year is this year.

Sherrill said she has seen no enthusiasm gap at her rallies and other events.

And then, there are the facts.

"The early vote, the vote by mail is very good," she said. "We surpassed the firewall we wanted to put in place."

That firewall is the Democrats' lead over Republicans in early voting - both in-person and by mail.

In-person early voting has ended, but mail-in ballots are still coming in.

As of Monday, about 290,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans had already voted.

In all, a bit more than 1.3 million New Jerseyans have voted.

The upshot is that Jack Ciattarelli needs a big GOP surge on Election Day to win. In football terns, he needs a big second half rally.

As Election Day dawned, there were reports of bomb threats to polling places in Bergen,  Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic counties.

Authorities deemed them not credible and Sherrill said she didn't see them as a threat to voting. And she added that New Jerseyans do not take kindly to this sort of thing.

Sherrill, who has never lost an election since her first run for Congress in 2018, was asked to make a prediction.

"I think I'm going to do very well," she said.