A New Jersey Democrat who rose to his position thanks to Governor Mikie Sherrill is facing calls to resign after a report accused him of making comments about “young sperm” to a female staffer.
Sherrill and other top Garden State Democrats called for Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell to step down after an ethics report found evidence he engaged in sexual harassment and attempted to get a promotion for his lover. Caldwell, a Methodist pastor and former university president, was picked by Sherrill to be her running mate in July 2025.
“The investigation fully examined the evidence, followed the facts, and protected everyone’s privacy. In my Administration, we are committed to doing what is right, not what is politically expedient,” Sherrill said on Thursday. “The Lieutenant Governor’s resignation is necessary and in the best interest of New Jersey residents.”
The report was conducted by law firm Lowenstein Sandler at the request of the governor’s top ethics officer.
Released Thursday, the report said it found “credible evidence” that Caldwell “made a romantic advance toward a female staffer’s friend.” After being shot down, the report said Caldwell told the staffer, “You young women are looking for young sperm.”
This comment caused the staffer “to change the way she interacted with [Caldwell] at work, to attempt to distance herself from him, and to avoid travel with him when possible,” the report said.
While Caldwell denied making the comment, the report said investigators did not find his denial credible.
The report noted two additional ethical violations it substantiated against Caldwell, including a finding that he “attempted on multiple occasions to secure a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship.”
According to investigators, Caldwell admitted he did not disclose his relationship with the employee when making the promotion requests.
Investigators also said that Caldwell “brought personal guests to ticketed events without advance ethics clearance and without payment or reimbursement.” He continued the practice even after receiving “formal and informal guidance,” according to investigators.
Caldwell has strongly denied all wrongdoing, and his legal team said the report was “character assassination.”
“This unnecessarily protracted and one-sided process lacked the requisite due process that should be afforded every citizen of this state,” his lawyer Thomas Calcagni said. “The Lieutenant Governor was not provided a meaningful opportunity to address each of these anonymous allegations or offer readily identifiable witnesses who possessed more pertinent, first-hand knowledge of the events in question.”
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