Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces bid for New Jersey governor, faces crowded field

Rep. Mikie Sherrill became the second Democratic member of Congress to jump into the increasingly crowded 2025 race for New Jersey governor Monday.

Sherrill, who represents parts of Morris, Essex and Passaic counties in the House, is a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor who hopes to keep Drumthwacket in Democratic hands with current Gov. Phil Murphy ineligible to seek a third term.

“Let’s make life more affordable for hardworking New Jerseyans, from health care to groceries to child care,” Sherrill declared in her announcement video. “These challenges aren’t new and it’s time to confront them head-on.”

Sherrill, 52, is the sixth Democrat to join the race to succeed Murphy, following Rep. Josh Gottheimer, co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, who announced his candidacy Friday.

“I am running to be the lower taxes, lower costs governor,” Gottheimer said. “Life in Jersey has become too damn expensive.”

The other Democrats who have announced their candidacy are Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

Republicans will feel optimistic about reclaiming the governor’s office after Vice President Kamala Harris defeated Donald Trump by just 5.6 percentage points in the Garden State presidential election — after President Biden defeated Trump by nearly 16 percentage points in 2020.

In 2021, Murphy won a second term by just 3.2 percentage points over unheralded Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who will be running again in 2025.

Other GOP contenders include state Sen. Jon Bramnick; former state Sen. Edward Durr, who unseated Sweeney in 2021; former Burlington City Mayor Jim Fazzone; and radio host Bill Spadea.

Sherrill took aim at the president-elect in her announcement video.

“We can also be the state that sets the gold standard for protecting rights and freedoms, and we know they’ll be under attack from Donald Trump’s Washington,” Sherrill argued. “Because in New Jersey, we love our country, we’re proud of our state, and we value our freedoms.”

Sherrill, a graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., served in the military for nine years, achieving the rank of lieutenant.

“I learned early on: In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is freeze,” she reflected in her video. “You have to choose to lead, to follow, or get out of the way.”

Sherril was elected to Congress in 2018, flipping the seat held for more than two decades by Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen.

After leaving military service, Sherrill received her law degree from Georgetown University and practiced for around a decade before entering politics.