Who is Rep. Mikie Sherrill? Meet the Democrat running for NJ governor

Mikie Sherrill: Meet the candidates for NJ governor

New Jersey Now sits down with Democratic gubernatorial candidate and NJ-11 congressional representative Mikie Sherrill. She explains her policies, including how she plans to bring costs down for New Jerseyans, plus dives into how Pres. Trump’s policies are affecting the state and her proposal to protect children from Big Tech.

NEW YORK - U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who currently represents the Garden State's 11th Congressional District, has a lead in most recent polls in the primary race for New Jersey governor.

Here's what you need to know about the Democratic candidate:

Who is Mikie Sherrill?

Dig deeper:

Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, joins a crowded field of Democrats vying to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., speaks at a "Get Out the Vote" rally, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Elizabeth, N.J. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Most of her campaign messaging has leaned on her military experience and being able to handle conflict. 

"I learned early on: In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is freeze," she said. "You have to choose to lead,"

Sherrill has represented the 11th District, which includes parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, since her 2018 election during President Donald Trump's first administration's midterm. Sherrill flipped the district from Republican control with former Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen's retirement and has been reelected three times since. Sherrill raised $2.8 million during the primary election, placing her among the top House fundraisers in the country.

Before getting elected to Congress, she was a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. She served in the Navy from 1994 to 2003.

If Sherrill has to resign her House seat, state law calls for the governor to set a special election if the seat opens up 70 days before the election.

Born in Alexandria, Virginia, the 53-year-old now lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband. She is also a mother of four.

Where she stands on the issues

What they're saying:

Here's what Sherrill told NJ Now about where she stands on the issues:

Affordability

"I think a lot of what I'm running to do is to make sure New Jersey delivers better for people across the state, whether that's building houses so we can drive costs down on mortgages and rental prices, adding new power into the grid so we can drive utility costs down, making sure we're addressing our broken healthcare system with better oversight. And fixing the middlemen, and getting pharmaceutical drugs out to people. All of that, I think, can work to drive down prices and also make New Jersey more affordable and easier for people to live in."

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., participates in the House Democrats' news conference following their caucus meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) 

Housing

"The affordability crisis is hitting everybody in New Jersey. That's why I keep talking about building more houses, because we are never going to make New Jersey more affordable if we don't make housing more affordable. We have open space issues, we have wetlands issues, so let's come up with innovative solutions for repurposing commercial spaces. I'm pushing for transit-oriented development so we can both build out areas for people to live and also have rateables for our transit system."

Immigration and ICE raids

"I think the role of the governor is to follow the law, and that includes the constitution of the United States and making sure law enforcement is following the constitution, but also at the same time making sure if people commit a crime that they are held accountable for that. And those are the types of things that as governor I'm going to ensure."

President Trump

"I think the chaos that we're seeing coming from Washington, the attacks on our economy, on our rights and freedoms, on just our core values as Americans, is something that New Jerseyans are not gonna tolerate. So here in New Jersey, we're gonna chart a different path forward."