Mikie Sherrill is now the Governor of New Jersey, replacing Phil Murphy, and becoming the first female Democratic governor of New Jersey.
Leading up to the election, Ciattarelli and Sherrill were head to head. Though, according to the polls, Sherrill led with 56.2% of the votes, while Ciattarelli fell behind with 43.2%.
Mikie Sherrill is a current member of Congress, previously a Naval Academy graduate, navy pilot, and federal prosecutor. She prides herself on being a wife and a mother to four children. Her goal is to make life easier for families in New Jersey, increasing the affordability within the state. She focuses on housing, energy costs, healthcare, tax relief, kids, and food prices.
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican, is a 63-year-old entrepreneur running for governor who primarily aims to lower taxes and improve the affordability of housing for New Jersey. His goal is to provide both relatability and stability for the state. He is a father of four children, and has served on numerous boards, committees, and councils within New Jersey. He had previously run for governor in 2017, where he gave up his position as a state assemblyman.
Sherrill aims to promote affordability state-wide. In terms of housing, this includes, but is not limited to, lowering the cost of housing, increasing accessibility to loans, and repurposing underused strip malls.
She aims to lower energy costs as New Jersey has been seeing the gradual rise of utility bills. She exaggerates her intent of investing in green and clean energy, such as solar.
She acknowledges the current insufficiency of the healthcare system, and intends to change this. She wants to lower costs and accessibility to higher-quality coverage.
She also aims to enforce tax relief, as our taxes have raised to the highest in the country, ensure that child care is efficient and available to all families, increasing food production, competition, and lowering food prices state-wide.
Overall, Sherrill says she will improve affordability for families state-wide.
Sherrill has been criticized for not reporting in alleged cheaters on exams during her time in the Naval academy. Because of this, she said, she was unable to walk at her commencement.
Notably, she expressed concerns of the ethical legitimacy of her private military records being released — and that her opponent was violating a law by releasing them non-consensually.
The previously mentioned controversy, in turn, poses as a campaign issue. She has been infamous for rather bold and serious claims made against her competition, and struggles with gaining support of African American voters living in New Jersey.
When asked about Democratic candidate Sherill, students respond mostly positive.
Hills senior, Mia Guzman, states, “I think she will be a good candidate to represent the state especially considering the state of the national government at this point in time.”
Hills junior, Christos Hernandez, agrees, “I feel like she’ll uphold the state laws well,” however, he looks at the opposing side, “I feel like people trust Jack Ciattarelli more than Mikie Sherrill, though. Especially in Wayne.”
He has noticed more Ciattarelli signs within the town as opposed to ‘Sherrill’. Though, with her introduction as Governor, one can only hope that the people’s trust in her will flourish.
Now that Sherrill has been elected, Hills sophomore, Kayla Villafana, looks forward to, “A female role model for aspiring young women to have the motivation to achieve a person of power,” and, “To witness the development of an affordable future under her governance.”
Sherrill will take office on January 20, 2026.
