On June 10, 2025, Rep. Mikie Sherrill addresses supporters at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown following her victory in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. For the New Jersey Monitor, Amanda Brown
According to the Associated Press, Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic primary on Tuesday in her campaign to become the next governor of New Jersey. She is expected to win the general election this fall, riding a tsunami of establishment and popular support that gathered around her perceived electability.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, had been the party’s favorite for a long time, topping surveys and receiving more endorsements from county organizations than any of her five opponents. Since the courts overturned the influential county line, which had always given party-endorsed candidates prominent billing on ballots and typically ensured a victory, her triumph was far from certain, and New Jersey was in uncharted territory.
Sherrill attacked President Donald Trump, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, and her Republican opponent in November in her victory speech. “Too beautiful to be beholden to the cruelty and self-interest that Jack and Trump are trying to foist on her,” she remarked of the United States.
“The president comes here nonstop to his golf course, and he calls our state a horror show. Come November, we’re sending a shot across the bow. We are sending a message, because it’s usually the people who have something to prove that work the hardest. Hey, New Jersey, I’ve got something to prove!” she stated.
After 12-term incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen resigned, Sherrill, 53, of Montclair, won her congressional seat in 2018 in her first-ever election for public office, reversing a long-held Republican seat. Since then, she has been reelected three times by voters in the 11th Congressional District, which includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
The two candidates, Ciattarelli and Sherrill, will compete to replace Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, who is not permitted to run for a third term this year.
Bishop Jethro James is the president of the Committee of Black Churches in Newark, North Jersey, and the senior pastor of Paradise Baptist Church. In Morristown, he joined crowds of exuberant fans who crowded into the Westin Governor Morris to celebrate her victory.
“The reality is, the best man for a job is a woman,” James stated. “I believe that her integrity speaks for itself. She understands real conditions of people and purpose. The other candidates are strictly politics. That’s not Mikie Sherrill. She understands a national budget, but she understands a kitchen budget.”
Anjali Mehrotra, a member of the National Organization for Women’s national board, described herself as “an original Team Mikie.”
“I’ve been waiting for her to run for governor for two years now,” Mehrotra stated. “I would like to see more women elected in office, and not just because I feel like we need representation, but actual research shows that women govern differently because they’re more empathetic, they’re more collaborative, and frankly, they’re more about the issues that I care about. Do I see a man fighting for universal child care? Probably not.”
By denouncing her as the establishment candidate at a time when many Democrats are disenchanted with their party and seeking radical change, Sherrill’s opponents attempted to sabotage her momentum.
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However, because she has been in politics for a shorter period of time than any of her campaign rivals except Sean Spiller, the insult of “machine politician” did not hold.
Nevertheless, she and her opponent, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, were the biggest spenders in the election, each spending about $9 million in what is now the most costly primary in New Jersey’s history. Additionally, independent expenditure groups increased Sherrill’s spending by about $4 million.
Murphy’s successor will face unprecedented challenges as the Trump administration progressively undermines state sovereignty by targeting state and local officials who oppose or at least permit its cost-cutting, immigration enforcement, and other policies that have caused widespread disruption.
As a result, the majority of Democrats in the contest made opposition to Trump their main campaign pledge.
According to Sherrill, she is the one most equipped to challenge Trump. Her admirers also think she can succeed.
Sherrill stated on Tuesday that she, not Ciattarelli, is the change agent in the election, despite Ciattarelli’s attempt to link Sherrill to Murphy in the hopes that New Jersey voters are fed up with Democratic policies controlling Trenton.
