NJ governor race rocked after feds release Dem nominee’s military documents
The race for governor in New Jersey plunged into chaos this week after a federal agency said it mistakenly released too much of Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill’s military records to an ally of Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, according to CBS News .
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), a branch of the National Archives, released the military files to Nick De Gregario, a former candidate who unsuccessfully ran for federal representative for New Jersey’s 5th district in 2022, CBS News reports.
De Gregorio told the outlet that Ciattarelli strategist Chris Russell asked him to look into Sherrill’s record. A public records request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was submitted by De Gregorio in June.
When he got the records, he found that personal details, such as Sherrill’s social security number, were not redacted.
“When I saw [Sherrill’s] Social (Security number), I was shocked,” De Gregorio said to CBS. “All of a sudden, the NPRC decides to give it to [me] a random guy. I made no bones like, I wasn’t her, I wasn’t a family member. There was no relationship there. And so I didn’t know what to expect. So, I guess I’m a little shocked and kind of disgusted that the social was there.”
Researching the records of political opponents is not uncommon but Grace McCaffrey of the National Archives and Records Administration told CBS News that the technician responsible should not have released the entire record.
MassLive submitted a request for the documents to the National Archives on Friday.
Sherrill has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of illegally leaking the private sections of her record and said she may take legal action, according to NJ.com .
CBS News obtained the documents to investigate whether Sherrill was involved in the 1994 Naval Academy scandal, where more than 100 midshipmen were implicated in cheating on an exam. It was also revealed this week that Sherrill was not allowed to walk with her class when she graduated from the U.S Naval Academy three decades ago.
“When I was an undergraduate at the Naval Academy, I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill told CBS News in a statement.
Some polls in the race to succeed New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy have shown a close contest between Sherrill and Ciattarelli, with a recent Emerson College poll finding 43% of voters supporting both candidates.
House Democrats have also called for an investigation into the distribution of the records, according to Politico .
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