Democrat Mikie Sherrill wins New Jersey's governor's race
EAST BRUNSWICK, New Jersey − Democrats scored a big win in the battle for New Jersey governor on Nov. 4, with reports showing voters elected U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill over former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli , a Republican ally of President Donald Trump who had embraced the Make America Great Again movement.
Sherrill, a fourth-term congresswoman and former Navy pilot, leaned into her military experience in a campaign that the GOP hoped would spoil Democrat's narrative that voters are turning against Trump . Her victory Tuesday in the Garden State is the second big one of the night for her party: Abigail Spanberger also won her campaign to be the first female governor of Virginia.
Of all the 2025 off-year races , New Jersey was expected to be the best shot for Republicans, according to political forecasters who rated the race as leaning Democratic. Ciattarelli had for months tried to poke holes into Sherrill's record, arguing she was "out of touch" as he sought to anchor her to Garden State problems and the unpopularity of term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
More: How Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill hope to redefine Democrats in Virginia and NJ
But Sherrill drew on New Jersey's long-standing Democratic connections and is set to become the state's second woman governor, after Republican Christine Todd Whitman.
Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli won contentious primaries in June to secure their respective party nominations.
Quinnipiac, Fairleigh Dickinson and Rutgers-Eagleton polls showed Sherrill leading by up to 9% in most instances during the summer and fall, but enthusiasm in the closing weeks seemed to skew more toward Ciattarelli, who barely lost his 2021 bid for governor against Murphy as he held packed rallies throughout the state.
Sherrill was part of Trump blue wave in 2018
Sherrill, 53, made her political debut in 2018 winning her first congressional race as part of a blue wave during Trump's first term. She focused heavily on rising costs during this year's campaign, and national Democrats are expected to spotlight her win as a sign the national environment is turning against Trump.
The Republican two-term president didn't campaign in person for Ciatterelli but threw much of his weight behind the former state assemblyman − who previously had raised questions about Trump's politics before more recently embracing him.
"He's shown zero signs of standing up to this president," Sherrill said during a debate against Ciattarelli. "In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA."
A native of Reston, Virginia, Sherrill earned an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy. After her military service, she obtained a master's degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown University. She worked as a lawyer and then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey.
Democrats accentuated her naval service throughout the race, including an announcement video in which she wore her Navy flight jacket to TV ads in which she’s riding in a helicopter while telling residents she learned the importance of decision making during her military service.
It also served as the source of campaign controversy this fall.
Sherrill's entire U.S. Navy record was released to an ally of her Republican opponent by the National Personnel Records Center at the National Archives in Washington.
Ciattarelli’s campaign raised questions about whether Sherrill was involved in a cheating scandal during her time at the Naval Academy in the early 1990s.
In a statement, Sherrill said that during her time as an undergraduate she did not "turn in some of my classmates," which is why she didn't participate in graduation ceremonies.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrat Mikie Sherrill wins New Jersey governor's race
