Tight NJ Governor’s Race Has Democrats Feeling Anxious
At a Westfield forum, progressive organizers urged action as new polls show a tie and voters rank the economy as the top issue.
Candidate Mikie Sherrill speaks at a New Jersey gubernatorial debate at Rider University as opponent Jack Ciattarelli listens on stage. (New Jersey Globe via YouTube)
September 29, 2025
The New York Mets ended their season with a loss on Sunday, capping a months-long slide that left Mets fans with an all-too-familiar sinking feeling as the team’s place in the MLB playoff standings slipped a little each week. That sense of drift mirrors the mood among some New Jersey Democrats as the race for governor tightens in the final weeks before Election Day.
Those worries surfaced Saturday in Westfield, where a coalition of progressive groups hosted what was billed as an early look at candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District ahead of next year’s midterms. Yet the governor’s race loomed large over the event, along with fears that New Jersey could elect a Republican backed by President Trump in November.
Those concerns increased after a recent survey showed Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill in a virtual tie with Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Just a month ago, an Eagleton poll had Sherrill up nine points. Two weeks ago, Quinnipiac released a survey indicating an eight-point lead for the Democratic congresswoman. This past week, an Emerson College poll found both candidates at 43 percent, with 11 percent undecided.
Progressive organizers are united in their frustration with the state of the race, but divided over the cause.
“She needs to make a better case for what she’s going to do as governor,” said Lisa Vandever, co-founder of Indivisible Rahway, who helped organize the Westfield event. She said she was disappointed that Sherrill seemed to “back off” on major issues like immigration and trans rights.
Others defended Sherrill’s campaign.
“She needs more than the progressive vote,” said Maggie Savoca, co-founder of the group One NJ7, which also organized the event in Westfield. Still, when asked how she feels about the gubernatorial race, Savoca said she’s “not hopeful.” She worries that too many Democrats are taking the state’s blue-state status for granted.
Indeed, New Jersey shifted purple in last year’s presidential election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by only two points over President Trump.
Residents gathered in Westfield for a weekend Democratic forum as the governor’s race tightened. (The Central Jerseyan)
On policy, Sherrill has centered her message on living costs and on tying her opponent to President Trump’s policies. In the Emerson poll, 51 percent of voters listed the economy as their top issue, followed by threats to democracy; just five percent mentioned immigration as a priority.
As Sherrill runs for governor, she also travels to Washington to do her job in Congress. True to her moderate credentials, she voted with House Democrats against a Republican spending bill, even as a shutdown loomed, but broke with some in her party by supporting a Republican-led resolution condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“It’s hard to be a sitting representative and run for office,” said Savoca. She said many progressives were not happy about Sherrill’s vote for the Kirk resolution because of its praise for the right-wing activist and influencer, but she defended the vote as a stance against political violence.
After spending the week in Washington, Sherrill spent the weekend crisscrossing New Jersey. Her campaign Facebook page shows her meeting voters at a new campaign office in Willingboro, rallying with union workers in East Orange, attending a Hindu festival in Jersey City, and celebrating Rosh Hashanah with Jewish voters in Bergen County. Along the way, she also met with voters in Vineland, Edison, and Perth Amboy.
Sherrill is also now defending her military record after the National Archives released unredacted records that included her Social Security number. The Sherrill campaign published a letter from the Archives’ director stating the release was unintentional and apologizing. However, Sherrill says the disclosure was no accident.
“The illegal release of my military records to my political opponent is not just an attack on me, it’s an attack on every veteran who served this country,” Sherrill says in a statement on Facebook. “New Jersey deserves better. We deserve leaders who protect our rights, not those who break the law to gain political points.”
Her opponent was quick to pounce on reports that the records reveal Sherrill was disciplined three decades ago in connection with a cheating scandal at the U.S. Naval Academy. While Sherrill is not accused of cheating herself, she was not allowed to walk at commencement as punishment for not turning in classmates who did cheat.
“For eight years, Mikie Sherrill has built her entire political brand around her time at the Naval Academy and in the Navy, all the while concealing her involvement in the scandal and her punishment. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency,” Ciattarelli’s campaign said.
It’s unclear how the leak has affected Sherrill’s campaign. The Emerson poll was taken days before the leak became public.
At the Westfield event, party strategists tried to turn voter anxiety into action. “I think this week was a wake-up call,” said Sue Altman, who ran against Congressman Tom Kean Jr. in 2024 and now works for Senator Andy Kim. Altman lost to Kean by about four points, and Democrats in the 7th Congressional District believe they can do better next year. But first, she said, the party needs to win in November. She urged everyone at the Westfield event to do all they can to make sure Sherrill becomes New Jersey’s next governor.
“This is the biggest election in the country this year,” Altman said, adding that she’s excited to see Sherrill finish strong.