Dec. 9, 2025
By Alessandra Ricra
Staff Writer
Earning 56.9% of the popular vote on Nov. 4, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is set to become New Jersey’s next governor. This marks the first time since the 1960s that voters in the Garden State have elected a governor of the same political party for three consecutive terms.
Sherill will also be the state’s first female Democratic governor, succeeding Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who was elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021.
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former helicopter pilot, Sherrill served nearly a decade in the Navy. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University in 2007, worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and has served as a representative for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District since 2019.
Sherrill defeated Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, a former state Assembly member, in his third unsuccessful bid for governor.
Her victory was part of a broader series of Democratic wins, as former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s gubernatorial election and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City.
Senior Noah Melendez said he was not surprised by Sherrill’s win.
“New Jersey is a democratic stronghold,” Melendez said. “New Jersey leans left on a state and federal level and has not elected a Republican governor since Chris Christie [in 2013].”
Nearly 3.6 million voters cast ballots this year — the highest turnout for a non-presidential race in New Jersey in more than 20 years, according to the New Jersey Monitor. NJ Spotlight News reported that Sherrill won majorities in every age cohort and secured 68% of first-time voters.
Melendez said Ciattarelli’s social media campaign was weak, which gave Sherrill an advantage.
FACT BOX BY ALESSANDRA RICRA Information from this fact box can be found on MikieSherrill.com.
“Ciattarelli did a great job highlighting his plan to make New Jersey more affordable, but struggled in appealing to young voters and did not key in on them at all,” Melendez said. “Ciattarelli did a bad job of using social media platforms to give him a better shot with younger people in the election, which I believe came back to haunt him.”
Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli ran campaigns focused on combating the affordability crisis in the state, which pertains to basic utilities, education costs, groceries, health care and transportation.
Melendez said he hopes Sherrill will lower the cost of living.
“Even small improvements would make a huge difference for families across our state,” Melendez said.
Senior Rabia Porne, who voted for the first time last month, also said she is concerned about New Jersey’s high cost of living.
“New Jersey has really high housing costs, and I would like to buy a house in [the] future. I feel like it would be impossible in this state,” Porne said.
She said she learned about the candidates’ views on affordability by watching YouTube ads and paying attention to their messaging.
“I educated myself in my [Advanced Placement] Government and Politics class when we watched the New Jersey [gubernatorial] debate. Also, I watched multiple videos on CNN and on Fox News to gather more information,” Porne said. “It is important not to feel pressured to vote for a [certain] candidate, but just to vote for a candidate that matches your beliefs.”
Porne said she expected a tighter race between the candidates.
“I honestly thought that Jack had a shot at winning because the polls were very close,” Porne said.
An Emerson College poll projected Sherrill would win by just 1%. Ultimately, though, Sherrill defeated Ciattarelli by nearly 14 points.
AP U.S. Government and Politics teacher Mr. Duus said polls remain a valuable tool, but they can overlook key variables.
“In the last decade, the polling has tended to undercount Republican strength. That’s what happened in 2016, in 2020 and in 2024 [during the presidential elections],” Duus said. “But this time it was the opposite.”
In May, President Donald Trump endorsed Ciattarelli during the GOP primary.
Duus said Ciattarelli’s ties to Trump and the MAGA movement put him at a disadvantage in this election, making him unpopular among some New Jersey voters.
“New Jersey, although it has become more competitive, is not a purple state. It’s a blue state, and [Ciattarelli] was always going to be facing the headwind of his association with Trump, which turned out to be a bigger roadblock than the fact that no party had held the governor’s mansion for three terms in a row,” Duus said.
“New Jersey has really high housing costs, and I would like to buy a house in [the] future. I feel like it would be impossible in this state.”
He said Sherrill’s centrist approach, including her military service and support for law enforcement, helped attract independent voters, in contrast to left-leaning strategies in other Democratic campaigns, such as Mamdani’s in New York.
“Some people think that after the Democrats lost in 2024, one solution was to play to the base and go further left. Another solution was to tack to the center and bleed off more independent voters who might otherwise vote for the Republicans,” Duus said. “[Sherrill] clearly did the latter.”
Duus said Sherrill’s approach demonstrates how strategic decisions can influence voter engagement.
“Although the ultimate result wasn’t super close in terms of votes, it was a race that was viewed the whole way to the end as competitive. So, it’s not a foregone conclusion,” Duus said. “Participating, debating… and even getting involved one day, in any campaign, can have a big impact.”
