Sherrill wins New Jersey governor's race

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) defeated former New Jersey General Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli (R) in the New Jersey governor's race, securing a major win for Democrats in their first election cycle since the start of President Trump’s second term, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Sherrill, a fourth-term congresswoman representing a district in northern New Jersey, fended off a competitive challenge from Ciattarelli, who ran for governor for a third time after narrowly losing to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021. Murphy is term-limited and couldn’t run again.

The race turned increasingly competitive in recent weeks, with some polling showing the election as a toss-up, as both candidates grappled with crisscrossing political headwinds. 

For Democrats, the state hadn’t elected a governor of the same party three times in a row since 1961, and its party was grappling with frustrations from voters over an affordability crisis at a time when Democrats controlled both the governor’s mansion and state Legislature.

Republicans, meanwhile, were forced to contend with President Trump's unpopularity in the state, even as the party has made gains in recent elections there. Murphy narrowly won four years ago, and former Vice President Kamala Harris only defeated President Trump in New Jersey by 6 points last year. Still, the current president has a disapproval rating of 51 percent, according to a recent survey from Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill. His low favorability forced Ciattarelli to walk a tightrope as the gubernatorial candidate sought to embrace the president while also seeking distance from him.

Democrats looked to make the election a referendum on Trump and his administration, tying Ciattarelli to the president, while Republicans looked to make the election a referendum on continued Democratic governance in the state.

The race turned increasingly personal in the final stretch, with both candidates attacking each other’s backgrounds. Ciattarelli hit Sherrill over her time in the U.S. Naval Academy after reporting came out that the congresswoman had not walked during her commencement ceremony in 1994. 

Sherrill said she didn’t walk because she didn’t turn in classmates implicated in a widespread cheating scandal at the academy, while Ciattarelli has pressed Sherrill to make her military disciplinary records public.

Meanwhile, Sherrill attacked Ciattarelli after an ally of his obtained a largely unredacted copy of her military records, which included personal information of hers and her family’s. Ciattarelli has denied any wrongdoing or involvement, and the National Archives have taken responsibility for the incident.

Sherrill also accused Ciattarelli and his medical publishing firm of playing a role in the opioid crisis, which the GOP candidate has rejected.

New Jersey was one of two hotly contested governor’s races that took place on Tuesday; Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed term-limited Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).