TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill was elected governor of New Jersey on Tuesday, solidifying Democratic control of a state that has historically been blue in presidential and Senate elections but has shown signs of shifting to the right in recent years.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member of Congress, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
The start of Tuesday's voting was disrupted after officials in seven counties received bomb threats by email that were later determined to be unfounded by law enforcement, said the state's top elections official, Lt. Gov. Tachesha Way. A judge granted a one-hour extension at some polling places after Democrats asked three schools that received email bomb threats earlier Tuesday.
Sherrill, 53, is instilling some confidence among Democratic Party moderates as they navigate the path to next year's midterm elections. A former prosecutor and military veteran, Sherrill embodies the brand of centrist Democrats who seek to appeal to some conservatives while maintaining support for some progressive causes. She campaigned on an attempt to counter Trump and blame voters' concerns about the economy on his tariffs.
She will become New Jersey's second female governor, following Republican Christina Todd Whitman, who served in the role from 1994 to 2001. Her victory also gives Democrats three straight gubernatorial victories in New Jersey, the first time in six decades that any major party has achieved a three-to-one margin of victory.
Ciattarelli lost his second consecutive gubernatorial election after coming within points of defeating incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago.
New Jersey's race for governor, one of two this year along with Virginia, has often hinged on local issues such as property taxes. But the campaign also served as a potential indicator of the national mood, particularly how voters are reacting to the president's second term and Democratic announcements ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In the final weeks of the campaign, Sherrill criticized the president's threat to cancel a project to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River to replace aging, crumbling pipes that now power trains to and from New York. She also promised to freeze electricity rates, which have recently risen sharply.
Sherrill takes office as governor after serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won the job in 2018 during Trump's first term, flipping a district long held by the GOP in an election in which Democrats won all but one of the state's 12 House seats.
During her campaign, Sherrill leaned heavily on her credentials as a congressman and former prosecutor, as well as her military service. But she also had to defend her Navy record following news reports that she was barred from attending the U.S. Naval Academy's 1994 commencement ceremony due to the school's academic cheating scandal.
Cheryl said the punishment was a result of some classmates failing to pass, not because she cheated herself. But she declined to release additional records that Ciattarelli's campaign said would shed more light on the issue.
For her part, she accused Ciattarelli of profiting from the opioid crisis. He is the former owner of a medical publishing company that produced continuing education materials for physicians, including some that discussed pain management and opioids. Cheryl called it “propaganda” from pharmaceutical companies, but Ciattarelli denied it.
Sherrill will inherit a state budget that has ballooned under Murphy, who delivered on promises to fund the state employee pension fund and K-12 school aid formula after years of neglect under previous governors at the expense of high income taxes on the wealthy. But there are also obstacles, including unfunded promises to continue the property tax relief program started in the governor's second term.
Also on the ballot Tuesday were all 80 seats in the Assembly, which Democrats control with a 52-seat majority.
New Jersey has not supported a Republican in the U.S. Senate or White House for decades. However, the governor's administration often changed parties. The last time the same party won a third consecutive gubernatorial election in New Jersey was 1961, when Richard Hughes won the race to succeed Gov. Robert Mainer. Both were Democrats.
