Mikie Sherrill
Governor of New Jersey since 2026
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill[1][2] (/ˈmaɪki ˈʃɛrəl/ MY-kee SHERR-əl; born January 19, 1972)[3] is an American politician, former naval officer, and former federal prosecutor serving since 2026 as the 57th governor of New Jersey.[4] She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Mikie Sherrill | |
|---|---|
![Mikie Sherrill](#/media/File:Governor_of_New_Jersey_Rebecca_Michelle_"Mikie"_Sherrill.jpg) Official portrait, 2026 | |
| 57th Governor of New Jersey | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2026 | |
| Lieutenant | Dale Caldwell |
| Preceded by | Phil Murphy |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 11th district | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – November 20, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Rodney Frelinghuysen |
| Succeeded by | Analilia Mejia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rebecca Michelle Sherrill January 19, 1972 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Jason Hedberg (m. 2005) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch | United States Navy |
Service years | 1994–2003 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Naval aviation |
Sherrill was first elected to office in 2018, winning the election for New Jersey's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was reelected in 2020, 2022, and 2024. She was elected governor in 2025.
Sherrill is New Jersey's second female governor (after Christine Todd Whitman) and first female Democratic governor, as well as the first female military veteran to be elected governor of any U.S. state.[5][6]
Early life and education
Sherrill was born in Alexandria, Virginia.[2] She grew up in various places along the East Coast of the United States due to her father's job.[2][7]
Sherrill attended South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia from 1986 to 1990, participating in the school's marching band.[8][9][10] In 1994, she earned her Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.[1] In 2003, Sherrill received an MSc in international and world history from the London School of Economics. In 2004, she received a certificate in Arabic language from the American University in Cairo. In 2007, Sherrill earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.[11]
Military career
Inspired by her grandfather who served as a pilot in World War II, Sherrill wanted to be a pilot from an early age.[11] She was among the flight school graduates in the first class of women eligible for direct assignment to fly combat aircraft.[12] Sherrill graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994.
She later completed over a year of flight training, was designated as a Naval Aviator after graduation from the advanced rotary-wing training pipeline at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and became a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, flying the H-3 Sea King.[2] Sherrill flew missions throughout Europe and in the Middle East.[7][11] In 2000, she was based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
Following her first operational sea duty assignment in a flying squadron, Sherrill was a Russian policy officer assigned to the then-Headquarters, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR).[2][13]
Sherrill served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for nine years, the last five with the rank of lieutenant.[14]
Law career
In mid-2007, while earning her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center, Sherrill was a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis.[15] After graduation from Georgetown University Law Center, Sherrill returned to Kirkland & Ellis's New York City office, where she worked in the litigation department from 2008 to 2011.[16]
After leaving Kirkland & Ellis, Sherrill joined the United States Attorney's Office as an outreach and reentry coordinator.[17] In 2015, Sherrill became a federal prosecutor, as an assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, working under U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.[2][18] She left that office in 2016.[7] At the time, she planned on going into the field of criminal justice reform.[11]
U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2018
On May 11, 2017, Sherrill launched her campaign for New Jersey's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[19][20] The seat had been held by 12-term Republican incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who in January 2018 announced he would not seek reelection.[10][21][22] The district had long been considered a Republican stronghold, even after it had been made slightly more Democratic on paper by pushing it further into Essex County, including a slice of Montclair around Sherrill's home. Frelinghuysen had been reelected three more times in this redrawn district without serious difficulty, but was thought to be vulnerable after Donald Trump carried it by one percentage point in 2016.[23]
In November 2017, comedian Chelsea Handler, who is from Livingston, went to Montclair to support Sherrill's campaign.[24] Sherrill was endorsed by the political action committee organization VoteVets.org,[25] the pro-choice Democratic PAC EMILY's List,[26] the editorial board of The New York Times,[27] and the New Jersey chapter of Clean Water Action.[28]
In June 2018, Sherrill won the Democratic primary with 77% of the vote, beating four other candidates.[29][30][31]
Sherrill raised $2.8 million during the primary election, placing her among the top House fundraisers in the country.[32][33] Her campaign raised $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2018, setting a record for a House candidate from New Jersey in one quarter.[34]
On November 6, Sherrill defeated Republican state assemblyman Jay Webber with 56.8% of the vote to Webber's 42.1%.[35][36] The election marked the largest partisan vote share swing in the 2018 cycle, with a 33-percentage-point swing from a 19-point Republican margin in 2016 to a 15-point Democratic one in 2018.[37][38] Sherrill is the first Democrat to win this seat since 16-term incumbent Joseph Minish was defeated in 1984 after the district had been redrawn to be more Republican.[39] She was the first Democrat since Minish's defeat to win more than 40% of the district's vote.
2020
Sherrill had a closer contest for reelection in 2020, defeating Republican tax lawyer Rosemary Becchi, 53.3% to 46.7%. That year Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the 11th district since it assumed its present configuration in 1984, carrying the district with 52.7% of the vote.[40][41]
2022
With redistricting following the 2020 census, the 11th District became somewhat friendlier for Sherrill. It was pushed further into Essex County while losing its share of heavily Republican Sussex County. Had the district existed in 2020, Biden would have carried it with 58% of the vote.[42] Sherrill won by a much wider margin than in 2020, defeating Republican Passaic County assistant prosecutor Paul DeGroot, 59% to 40.2%.[43]
2024
In 2024, Sherrill easily won the Democratic primary over real estate consultant Mark De Lotto with 93.6% of the vote.[44] In the general election, she was reelected with 56.5% of the vote over Belleville building inspector Joseph Belnome. Sherrill outperformed the Democratic Party's concurrent nominees for president and Senate, as Kamala Harris won 53% of the district's vote and Andy Kim won 54%.[45] The New Jersey Globe partially attributed Belnome's political unpopularity to his attendance at the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[44]
Tenure
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Following her election, Sherrill joined the moderate New Democrat Coalition, the second-largest Democratic caucus in the House, and was named its freshman whip.[46] She also joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of moderate and conservative House Democrats, but left the group in 2023.[47] She joined two other female veterans in the Democratic freshman class, fellow Naval Academy graduate Elaine Luria and former Air Force officer Chrissy Houlahan.
Per a promise to her constituents, Sherrill did not vote for Nancy Pelosi to retake the speakership, instead voting for Cheri Bustos of Illinois.[48] She voted "present", essentially an abstention, in her second speakership vote.[49]
In 2019, Sherrill initially opposed exploring the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, but reversed course in September after a whistleblower alleged that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden.[50] According to one report, Sherrill was instrumental in motivating Speaker Pelosi to proceed with the impeachment inquiry and said her "grave concerns" about Trump's behavior were "rooted in self-sacrifice and principle".[51] An op-ed she co-wrote with six other freshman Democrats with national security backgrounds—Houlahan, Luria, Gil Cisneros, Jason Crow, Elissa Slotkin and Abigail Spanberger—said that "everything we do harks back to our oaths to defend the country" and described the claims against Trump as "a threat to all we have sworn to protect".[52] Sherrill, Slotkin and Spanberger were described as the "mod squad", a moderate alternative to the progressive "squad".[53][54]
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Sherrill indicated her support for a second impeachment of Trump after the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[55] She said she had seen some colleagues giving what she called "reconnaissance tours" of the building the day before the attack.[56][57][58]
Sherrill voted with President Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[59] She voted with Biden 92.6% of the time in the 118th Congress through 2023, while Democrats in Congress voted with Biden 93% of the time on average during that period.[60]
On February 1, 2023, Sherrill was among 12 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[61][62]
In 2023, Sherrill criticized the implementation of congestion pricing in lower Manhattan, New York City, calling the congestion pricing plan "New York's greedy cash grab from New Jersey commuters".[63]
On July 9, 2024, Sherrill became the seventh House member to publicly request that Biden step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2024 United States presidential election.[64]
Sherrill resigned from Congress at 11:59 PM on November 20, 2025, after winning the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election.[65]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:[66]
Caucus memberships
- Black Maternal Health Caucus[67]
- Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues
- New Democrat Coalition[68]
- Congressional Equality Caucus[69]
- Global Positioning System Caucus[70]
- Congressional Animal Protection Caucus[71]
- Congressional Ukraine Caucus[72]
- For Country Caucus[73]
- Rare Disease Caucus[74]
- Blue Dog Coalition (former member)[75]
Governor of New Jersey
2025 election
Sherrill launched her campaign for governor on November 18, 2024, seeking to succeed term-limited incumbent Phil Murphy.[76] Her campaign emphasized affordability (particularly property taxes and utility costs), protecting children, and increasing government accountability.[77] She was endorsed by organizations including the New Jersey Education Association, Sierra Club, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, and several newspapers owned by Gannett.[78][79][80]
In the June 10, 2025, Democratic primary, Sherrill won the nomination with approximately 34% of the vote in a crowded field that included Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.[81] She faced Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman who had narrowly lost the 2021 gubernatorial election to Murphy, in the November 4 general election.[82]
The general-election campaign focused heavily on cost-of-living issues, with both candidates pledging to address high property taxes and utility rates.[83] Late polling showed a competitive race, with some surveys indicating a close contest,[84] but Sherrill won decisively with 57% of the vote to Ciattarelli's 43%, performing strongly in suburban counties and flipping some voters who had supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.[85][86][87] Her victory made Sherrill the second woman to serve as governor of New Jersey (after Republican Christine Todd Whitman), the first Democratic woman in the role, and the first female military veteran to serve as governor of any U.S. state.[5][6]
Tenure
Sherrill was sworn in as New Jersey's 57th governor on January 20, 2026, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, the first gubernatorial inauguration held outside the state capital of Trenton since the tenure of William Livingston, New Jersey's first governor.[88][89] In her inaugural address, she emphasized affordability and government efficiency and took a defiant tone toward national political divisions.[90] The inaugural ball was held at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, featuring performances by Naughty by Nature and other New Jersey artists.[91] On her first day in office, Sherrill signed two executive orders: one declaring a state of emergency on utility costs and imposing a temporary freeze on electric rate increases, and one aimed at expanding clean energy sources.[92][93] Due to severe winter weather, Sherrill declared a statewide state of emergency on January 23 to facilitate response efforts and resource allocation.[94] As of late January 2026, Sherrill's early tenure has focused on fulfilling campaign pledges related to affordability amid ongoing economic pressures.[95]
In February, Sherrill issued an executive order barring United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from operating on state-owned property, which includes office buildings, parking lots, and parkways.[96] The United States Department of Justice subsequently sued New Jersey, arguing that Sherrill had violated the Supremacy Clause.[97]
On March 10, 2026, Sherril announced her Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal, totaling a record $60.7 billion focused on affordability, fiscal responsibility, and education, aiming to cut costs amid New Jersey's structural deficit. The proposal includes $2 billion in proposed expenditure reductions, $4.2 billion in property tax relief, $22.5 billion for school aid, and $33 million for youth mental health services, while aiming to close corporate tax loopholes.[98][99] On April 8, Sherrill signed legislation lifting a state nuclear moratorium in front of the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station, aiming to expand access to clean energy. Sherrill also announced the launch of the state's Nuclear Task Force to seek out new nuclear energy projects.[100][101]
Public perception
On April 9, 2026, the Eagleton Institute of Politics released a poll showing Sherrill's approval at 45%, while 29% disapproved.[102] On March 31, a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll showed Sherrill at 58% approval and 34% disapproval, giving her a net approval of +24,[103] notably contrasting with her fellow freshman governor Abigail Spanberger's net approval of +1 in a Washington Post poll.[104]
Personal life
Sherrill is married to Jason Hedberg, a graduate and former classmate from the United States Naval Academy[105][106] who served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer and now works as an investment banker. The couple has lived in Montclair with their four children since 2010.[107][11][7] She is Irish-American and Catholic.[108]
During most of her time in Congress, Sherrill roomed with colleague Abigail Spanberger, who was elected governor of Virginia during the same 2025 election cycle as Sherrill.[109]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill | 35,338 | 77.4 | |
| Democratic | Tamara Harris | 6,615 | 14.5 | |
| Democratic | Mark Washburne | 1,538 | 3.4 | |
| Democratic | Alison Heslin | 1,253 | 2.7 | |
| Democratic | Mitchell H. Cobert | 885 | 1.9 | |
| Total votes | 45,629 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill | 183,684 | 56.8 | |
| Republican | Jay Webber | 136,322 | 42.1 | |
| Independent | Robert Crook | 2,182 | 0.7 | |
| Libertarian | Ryan Martinez | 1,386 | 0.4 | |
| Total votes | 323,574 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) | 79,961 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 79,961 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) | 235,163 | 53.3 | |
| Republican | Rosemary Becchi | 206,013 | 46.7 | |
| Total votes | 441,176 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) | 161,436 | 59.0 | |
| Republican | Paul DeGroot | 109,952 | 40.2 | |
| Libertarian | Joseph Biasco | 2,276 | 0.8 | |
| Total votes | 273,664 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) | 222,583 | 56.5 | |
| Republican | Joseph Belnome | 164,556 | 41.8 | |
| Green | Lily Benavides | 4,780 | 1.2 | |
| Independent | Joshua Lanzara | 1,832 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 393,751 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill | 286,244 | 34.02% | |
| Democratic | Ras Baraka | 173,951 | 20.67% | |
| Democratic | Steven Fulop | 134,573 | 15.99% | |
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer | 97,384 | 11.57% | |
| Democratic | Sean Spiller | 89,472 | 10.63% | |
| Democratic | Stephen Sweeney | 59,811 | 7.11% | |
| Total votes | 841,435 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mikie Sherrill Dale Caldwell |
1,896,610 | 56.88% | +5.66% | |
| Republican | Jack Ciattarelli Jim Gannon |
1,417,705 | 42.52% | –5.48% | |
| Libertarian | Vic Kaplan Bruno Pereira |
11,880 | 0.36% | +0.06% | |
| Socialist Workers | Joanne Kuniansky Craig Honts |
8,164 | 0.24% | +0.09% | |
| Total votes | 3,334,359 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +5.66% | |||
See also
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- Christine Todd Whitman (first female governor of New Jersey)
