Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add a statement from Sherrill clarifying her position on her stock trading.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th), the former Navy helicopter pilot, prosecutor and mom of four, was one of the later candidates to jump into the Democratic primary race for New Jersey governor. But she quickly became the frontrunner after winning several county conventions, including Essex, Middlesex, Mercer and Ocean Counties.
“Organization still matters. You go into a county, a big Democratic county. Somebody’s gonna have a list of volunteers. That’s a huge advantage for you. They have a list of people who they know, and here are our connections, that’s a huge help,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University.
Learning from the Democrats’ major losses in last year’s presidential election, Sherrill’s main message has been affordability. And Sherrill has vowed to take on President Donald Trump, writing in an Op-Ed recently that Democrats need a new playbook to take on the president.
“It’s not just fighting back against cuts to Medicaid, cuts to Social Security, to cuts to education. All that would do to New Jersey. But it’s also fighting for the people of New Jersey, driving down housing costs and utility costs and healthcare costs. Making sure every kid in our state has access to a great education,” said Sherrill.
But in what’s been a fairly tepid primary season for the six Democratic candidates, Sherrill’s challengers have begun taking aim at the frontrunner. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka responding to her op-ed with a question. “Where are the new plays?”, referring to her playbook, saying tough talk and wishful thinking won’t get it done. And Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop asked the Election Law Enforcement Commission to investigate her campaign spending.
Sherrill, in turn, has accused Fulop of a history of corruption. Former Senate President Steve Sweeney reminded voters that she was fined for violating the Congressional STOCK act, which bars lawmakers from trading stocks based on non-public information. Sherrill was fined for failing to disclose her husband, Jason Hedberg’s, stock trades via a periodic transaction report within the 45-day deadline required. She voluntarily paid a $400 fine and Sherrill and Hedberg subsequently replaced all their shares of individual stocks with exchange-traded funds, which are securities that are traded without being identified to the ETF shareholder.
Voters expect these attacks in the home stretch. Insiders expected more from Sherrill.
“I think a lot of people expected her to be a little bit further out than she actually is. I think the surprising thing about Congresswoman Sherrill’s campaign is that she hasn’t quite run away with it just yet. She’s only recently started going on TV. Other’s have been up before her,” says Dworkin.
And with just over a month to go before the votes are cast, and six candidates still in the race, the fate of Sherrill’s gubernatorial run could be determined by just a couple thousand votes. She has about $5.5 million in the coffers to help her try to pull out a strong lead in this home stretch.
Sherrill will join Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th) and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney in NJ Spotlight News’ “Conversations with the Gubernatorial Candidates” this Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. on NJ PBS and the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel. This is one of the mandatory public events for candidates receiving public financing.
