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Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill will be New Jersey’s next governor, defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli, Decision Desk HQ projects.

Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter family pilot and federal prosecutor, flipped a Republican-held North New Jersey congressional district in 2018 in a wave of Democrats elected in President Donald Trump’s first term. She is now poised to be New Jersey’s second woman and first Democratic woman in the governor’s office. 

In her victory speech, Sherrill invoked New Jersey’s state motto of “liberty and prosperity.” 

“We see how clearly important liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted, ignoring the law and the Constitution, but prosperity is equally essential,” she said. “Liberty alone is not enough if the government makes it impossible for you to feed your family, to get a good education or to get a good job. In this country, that shouldn’t be too much to ask, but right now, all of it seems at risk. Governors have never mattered more, and in this state, I am determined to build prosperity for all of our citizens.” 

The governor’s race largely centered on costs, affordability and Trump. Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and three-time Republican gubernatorial candidate, has aligned himself closely with Trump in his past two runs for governor.  

Polls showed a close race between the two candidates, with Sherrill holding a single-digit lead over Ciattarelli in the final stretch of the race. 

The New Jersey governor’s race was closely watched as a barometer of the national mood 10 months into Trump’s second term. New Jersey has long been solidly blue at the statewide level but saw a dramatic rightward shift in the 2024 presidential election, with Trump gaining significant ground among working-class and non-White voters, especially. In 2021, Ciattarelli came just three points away from defeating Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. 

Sherrill graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 and was among the first class of women military pilots allowed to fly in all combat roles. She served nine years in the Navy before earning a law degree from Georgetown University. After years of working in private practice, she joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Newark, working first as a community outreach manager and then as a prosecutor before launching her first campaign for Congress. 

Sherrill was elected to Congress as part of a group of centrist Democrats with backgrounds in the military and national security. Other members of that group have risen in House leadership roles or been elected to higher office — Elissa Slotkin won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in 2024, and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s gubernatorial race Tuesday.   

The first woman governor of New Jersey was Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who served from 1994 to 2001.