U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill wins crowded Democratic primary for N.J. governor
Sherrill was the only woman in the crowded Democratic field.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic primary in the New Jersey governor’s race, the Associated Press projected.
The Associated Press called the race for Sherrill at 8:39 p.m. on Tuesday, a swift election night win. She’ll face Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a three-time candidate, in November.
Sherrill, 53, defeated five opponents in the uniquely competitive primary, in which she was the only woman. If she wins in November, she’ll be the second female governor in the state’s history and the first woman to hold the office in more than two decades, succeeding term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
» READ MORE: Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli will face off in N.J. governor election
Her campaign celebrated at The Westin Governor Morris in Morristown.
Sherrill, who lives in Montclair, represents parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties. She is a former prosecutor, Navy helicopter pilot, and mother of four. She flipped a red district in 2018, defeating a Republican opponent after the GOP incumbent retired.
She campaigned on making New Jersey housing, healthcare and utilities more affordable and standing up to the Trump administration.
Her opponents in the crowded primary included U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Steven Sweeney.
Sherrill consistently polled at the top throughout the race but each candidate was still viewed as having a potential path to victory given the size of the field and the fragmentation of the party.
The four-term member of Congress had the most establishment support in the race, with 10 Democratic county committees endorsing her in the central and northern parts of the state.
These machine endorsements have been seen as a ticket to victory for decades until this year, when the county line ballot design was nixed.
While Baraka and Fulop ran toward the left, Sherrill struck a more center-left tone as she pitched her resume and electability and benefitted from significant North Jersey establishment support. She touted being able to attract a large net of supporters within the Democratic Party.
Sherrill was the first House Democrat in New Jersey or Pennsylvania to call on former President Joe Biden to step down from the 2024 presidential primary, following a disastrous debate performance. She was also part of a group of freshman Democrats who called for Trump to be impeached during her first term in 2019 and twice declined to vote for U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the long-time party leader, as speaker.
Sherrill would be the first Democratic woman to lead the state if she’s successful in November. Christine Todd Whitman led the state as a Republican from 1994 to 2001.
At the polls on Tuesday, supporters of Sherrill said her background as a former Navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor and mom stood out in the crowded field.
“She was a member of the House of Representatives. She knows how the system works,” Ed Masarsky, 83, said in Cherry Hill.
At the Gloucester Township Blackwood Rotary Public Library, Nicole Landis, 52, said she voted for Sherrill because she felt a connection to the mother of four.
“She just clicked with me,” Landis said. “[She] speaks to the kind of person I am.” Even with the support of much of the New Jersey establishment, voters like Landis said they saw Sherrill as someone with a fresh perspective and “different voice,” after eight years with Murphy at the helm.
During a visit to Evesham in Burlington County last week, Sherrill spoke to a crowd of about 20 supporters who sat in lawn chairs at Evesboro Downs Park for the short-notice stop.
Rachel Alban, 35, also a Naval Academy graduate, said she had been hoping to attend a Sherrill event and stumbled upon the appearance. She said she’s attracted to Sherrill’s background.
“I support fellow Naval Academy women and veterans, and think that we need more of them serving our country in various government positions,” said Alban, a South Jersey resident.
Greg Newcomer, a Moorestown business owner, said he began supporting Sherrill after seeing her debate performances. He’s impressed by her national experience and is drawn to her “results-oriented” approach.
“She’s had success in going to Washington and understanding what the situation is now and bringing that here,” he said. “That experience will be good for us so that we can figure out how to move forward in the current times.”
Sherrill told the crowd that the state needs to “stabilize and modernize” the controversial school funding formula, a hot topic across party lines. She emphasized the need for New Jersey to encourage more shared services between the state’s many municipalities, another view spanning party lines that she acknowledged isn’t original but is in dire need of addressing.
Polling ahead of the election showed Sherrill’s support was more concentrated in North Jersey. She said in an interview days before the election that voters in South Jersey seem concerned about a lack of public transportation while North Jersey voters are more focused on decrepit infrastructure. She said she is creating a plan to grow transportation, housing, and business throughout the whole state.
“Not a North Jersey plan,” she said, acknowledging that South Jersey voters feel like they haven’t gotten as much attention as the rest of the state. “A statewide plan.”
She said last week she believes she ran “an incredibly strategic, disciplined race,” and that she hopes for the chance to take a nap on Wednesday.
Staff writers Nate File and Denali Sagner contributed to this article.