Mikie Sherrill won’t just become the second woman to serve as governor in New Jersey’s history when she’s sworn into office on Jan. 1 after defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
The Democratic member of Congress has also pulled off another feat: winning a third term for her party as the state’s top official. Sherrill will succeed Gov. Phil Murphy.
Sherrill addressed a rambunctious crowd of supporters Tuesday night at her election event in East Brunswick. Supporters chanted her name as she took the stage.
“This was a tough fight, and this is a tough state. But I know you, New Jersey, and I love you,” she said. “I’ve fought for you. I’ve spoken with thousands of you over this last year. I know your struggles. I know your hopes. I know your dreams. So serving you is worth any tough fight I have to take on, and I am incredibly honored to be here.”
The last time a party won three consecutive governor’s terms in New Jersey was over 60 years ago. In 1961, Democrat Richard Hughes won an upset victory over Republican James Mitchell.
Republican Christine Todd Whitman served from 1994 to 2001 as the first female governor of New Jersey.
Revelers at Sherrill's election night party on Tuesday.
Voter turnout surged in this year's election, in both early in-person voting and Election Day turnout. Early voters turned in more than 600,000 ballots, tripling the number from the 2021 gubernatorial race. Overall, more than 3.1 million New Jersey voters cast ballots — up from about 2.6 million in 2021.
“This is historic,” said Teresa Ruiz, New Jersey Democratic state senate majority leader and a Sherrill supporter. “But the most compelling thing is the numbers that came out. People were excited to go. They connected with her and they understood what was at stake.”
Supporters at Ciattarelli’s election night event began trickling out of the ballroom at the Marriott Hotel in Bridgewater shortly after the race was called for Sherrill. Those who remained chanted “Thank you, Jack,” as he addressed the crowd, saying he’d called Sherrill to concede.
“Even though we were not successful tonight, it does not mean we were not successful in talking about the issues that matter,” Ciattarelli said. “The fight doesn’t end, we fight for another day.”
Jack Ciattarelli
This was Ciattarelli’s third try for the state’s highest office and his second as the Republican Party’s nominee. President Donald Trump had endorsed him twice — once during the primary and the general — and Ciattarelli aligned himself closely with the MAGA movement. But the president’s popularity has dwindled in the Garden State, with recent polls putting his unfavorables around 60%.
“I thought it’d be closer than what it is,” said Phil Wilson, 44, a Ciattarelli supporter from Hillside. “We was all hoping for different results, but the outcome was much different than we expected.”
Ciattarelli supporters at his election event Tuesday night.
After the primary in June, a poll from Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute gave Sherrill a sizable 20-point advantage over Ciattarelli.
However, subsequent polls placed her lead in the single digits, suggesting that the race was tightening in recent months. But Sherrill gained over 56% of the vote as of late Tuesday night, reaffirming polling that, on average, showed her with a five-point advantage in the final months of the race.
