Former Navy Pilot Mikie Sherrill Elected Governor of New Jersey, Defeating Trump-Backed Opponent

Democrat Mikie Sherrill has been elected as the 57th governor of New Jersey, defeating Republican candidate and state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

A former Navy pilot, Sherrill has represented New Jersey’s 11th congressional district since 2018. Speaking to supporters on Tuesday, Nov. 4, she said, according to the Associated Press, “We here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children. We see how clearly important liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted, ignoring the law and the Constitution.” She was joined on stage by her husband and children at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel.

This election marked Ciattarelli’s third bid for governor. After losing in the Republican primary in 2017 and narrowly falling to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, the 63-year-old announced another run in April 2024. Nearly a year later, Trump threw his support behind him, saying Ciattarelli had come to “know and understand MAGA,” according to NPR. Despite past criticism of Trump, the endorsement energized parts of the Republican base.

Former President Barack Obama also endorsed Sherrill and appeared with her during campaign events. The four-term congresswoman announced her candidacy in November 2024 and will now succeed Murphy, who was limited to two consecutive terms. According to The Hill, this marks the first time since 1961 that Democrats have won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in New Jersey, where they also maintain control of the state legislature.

In the final stretch of the campaign, both candidates targeted each other’s pasts. Ciattarelli criticized Sherrill’s choice not to walk at her 1994 U.S. Naval Academy commencement ceremony. Sherrill explained she declined to do so because she refused to turn in classmates involved in a cheating scandal, as reported by the New Jersey Globe. Her service record remained unaffected, and she soon began training at the Navy flight school in Pensacola, Florida. She went on to serve nearly a decade as a Sea King helicopter pilot, flying missions throughout Europe and the Middle East, according to her campaign website.

Tensions escalated further when Ciattarelli’s campaign pressed for the release of her military disciplinary records. A supporter of his later obtained an unredacted copy that included Sherrill’s and her family’s personal information, according to CBS News. He denied filing the request during a gubernatorial forum hosted by PIX11 News, as reported by The Hill.

Sherrill, in turn, accused Ciattarelli and his medical publishing company of “spreading misinformation about the dangers of opioid addiction” in New Jersey. Ciattarelli rejected the accusation and stated he planned to file a defamation lawsuit, CBS News reported.