Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill (Photo by Reena Rose Sibayan for New Jersey Monitor)
Democrat Mikie Sherrill was elected New Jersey governor on Tuesday, landing a hard-fought victory that many election observers regarded as a rejection of President Donald Trump.
Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman and former federal prosecutor, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican and retired state assemblyman making his third bid for governor.
Her win bucks a six-decade trend that has seen no party hold the governor’s seat for more than two consecutive terms. She will replace Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat who has led the Garden State since 2018.
She will become New Jersey’s second female governor at a time when the state is bitterly at odds with the Trump administration, with the Garden State a lead plaintiff or party to 40 lawsuits against the federal government.
Her win came despite stinging attacks from Ciattarelli that had cast her as a Murphy clone sure to continue policies that have helped drive up costs in the Garden State.
Sherrill brought in a bevy of big-name politicians to stump at her side, including former President Barack Obama and several Democratic governors and federal lawmakers.
Her four-year term will begin in mid-January. The Rev. Dale Caldwell, her running mate who’s now president of Centenary University in Hackettstown, will be lieutenant governor.
Sherrill, a Montclair mother of four and former Navy helicopter pilot, has represented the 11th Congressional District, which covers parts of Morris, Essex, and Passaic counties, since January 2019. Her elevation to the governor’s mansion will leave that seat up for grabs in 2026.
Republican Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, shown with Sen. Michael Testa in center, win re-election in the First Legislature District.Unlike the results of the governor’s election, Republicans were able to win key state and county races in Cape May County.
Republican incumbents Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen defeated Democrats Carolyn Rush and Carol Sabo to win re-election in the state Assembly’s First Legislative District, which includes all of heavily Republican Cape May County and parts of Atlantic and Cumberland counties.
Republican incumbents Bob Barr and Andrew Bulakowski won re-election on the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, the political body that oversees the county government. They defeated the lone Democratic challenger, Eric Morey. The Democrats did not run a second candidate in the race.
Rita Rothberg, a Republican incumbent, was unopposed in the race for Cape May County Clerk.
The election also included races for the Board of Education. The school board races are considered nonpartisan.
In Ocean City, school board President Kevin Barnes and his running mates, Jennifer Dwyer and Jennifer Cawley-Black, defeated the slate of candidates that included Liz Nicoletti, Catherine Panico and Robin Shaffer. Nicoletti and Panico are currently school board members and Shaffer is a former board member.
With 100 percent of the districts reporting, Barnes had 2,732 votes, Dwyer had 2,715 and Cawley-Black had 2,530 to win the three seats up for election. Nicoletti had 2,431 votes, Panico had 2,376 votes and Shaffer had 2,198 votes, according to the unofficial results.
In Sea Isle City, incumbents Kristy Pittaluga and Lauren Ciseck ran unopposed to retain their seats on the Board of Education.
