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New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill is facing criticisms that she is the “Kamala Harris of New Jersey” as the Garden State enters its final leg of an election cycle that will either flip it red or elect a likely next star for the Democratic Party.
Sherrill is in the midst of a tight race against her Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, whose campaign has slammed Sherrill as similar to former Vice President Kamala Harris for occasional gaffes, claims she shies away from public events and for allegedly running a “choreographed” campaign.
“There’s similarities (between Sherrill and Harris) in that they both are incapable of answering basic questions and seem to have a penchant for putting their foot in their mouth,” Chris Russell, a New Jersey GOP consultant who works with the Ciattarelli campaign, told the New York Post earlier in September. They “hide from the press, hide from the public (and are) very, very managed and choreographed.”
The Democratic Party is currently seeking out its next big-name stars after Harris failed to rally enough support at the 2024 ballot box to defeat President Donald Trump, leaving the party in a tailspin as it looks for fresh leadership going into the midterms. New Jersey and Virginia are the only states holding gubernatorial elections in 2025, providing Sherrill and Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the platform to potentially become new Democratic powerhouses if they prove victorious come election day.
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Fox News Digital took a look at Sherrill’s professional and political background and found a handful of similarities with the former vice president as she looks to keep the Garden State blue.
Sherrill first was elected to the U.S. House in 2018, flipping the 11th District seat away from the Republicans as part of that election year’s blue wave. Similar to Harris notching firsts as a woman in high-profile roles — most notably becoming the first female vice president in 2020 — Sherrill’s 2018 election cemented her as the first female to represent the 11th District.
Sherrill, who is a military veteran, also worked as a prosecutor in the days leading up to jumping into politics. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University before working at a New York City law firm and joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey as a federal prosecutor in 2015, according to her biography.
Harris also served as a prosector ahead of running for elected office, launching her career in the Alameda County, California, District Attorney’s Office as a deputy district attorney in 1990. In the late 1990s, she moved over to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as assistant district attorney, then to the San Francisco city attorney’s office, before running in 2004 to become San Francisco’s top cop.
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Unlike Harris, Sherrill is a U.S. Navy veteran and former Sea King helicopter pilot who spent more than nine years on active duty in the United States Navy. She left the Navy in 2003 at the rank of lieutenant and went into law school, according to her congressional biography.
Sherrill has come under fire from her Republican challenger’s campaign for reportedly ducking public events and media interviews in favor of running an alleged “choreographed” campaign. A review of Sherrill’s campaign website’s “events” section Tuesday did not yield upcoming campaign events and speeches from Sherrill, but instead focused on volunteering events, such as door knocking and working phone banks.
Sherrill did join MSNBC Monday evening, took part in a meet and greet with Jewish voters Sunday, celebrated the Hindu holiday of Navratri in Jersey City that same day, as well as addressed South Jersey voters and union members at various events earlier in September, according to a review of her campaign’s Facebook page.
Harris was accused of avoiding the media in her first weeks as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024. She worked to rally support for 39 days without a media interview before joining a CNN sit-down interview Aug. 29, 2024, while accompanied by then-running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
A review of Ciattarelli’s campaign website shows he has nine upcoming events listed across the state, including rallies, meet and greets and “business stops” at local shops.
Sherrill and Ciattarelli both took part in the election cycle’s first gubernatorial debate earlier in September at Rider University, where the two sparred over the state’s notoriously high taxes, abortion and immigration. The pair is set to return to the debate stage Oct. 8.
Similar to Harris, Sherrill also has a strong campaign platform vowing to protect abortion access, including noting on her campaign website that she supports “enshrining the right to an abortion in New Jersey’s state constitution to permanently protect reproductive freedom.”
Harris was the first known sitting vice president to visit an abortion provider back in 2024, and repeatedly championed abortion access while on the campaign trail.
The New Jersey Democrat also has faced campaign attacks for “gaffes,” including in May when she tripped over her words when asked in an interview what top piece of legislation she would like to pass.
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“That’s a really good question, ’cause there’s so many that are coming to mind right now,” she responded, before adding that she would like to see a federal block grant program to fund “key programs” in New Jersey, including in the “healthcare area.”
Ciattarelli’s campaign has since used the segment of the interview in ads to slam Sherrill as having “no plans” to lead the state.
“She’s a gaffe machine, frankly,” Russell added in a comment to the New York Post earlier in September.
Harris frequently came under scrutiny for “word salads” during public events, which included using repetitive or confusing phrases such as “unburdened by what has been” and “children of the community are children of the community.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s campaign Tuesday afternoon for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
“Mikie has gotten support from fellow veterans to seniors to families struggling to make ends meet to young people hoping to build their future in New Jersey,” Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sam Chan told the New York Post.
“Jack’s campaign is desperate because Mikie is fighting for every New Jersey family and Jack is only out for himself and follows Trump’s lead without a shred of independence,” Chan added of Ciattarelli, who is in the midst of his third run for New Jersey governor.
The gubernatorial race is heating up in its final month as Ciattarelli works to close a polling gap in the historically blue state. Current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is term limited and unable to run for re-election. Chris Christie served as New Jersey’s last GOP governor, serving from 2010 to 2018.
Sherrill is in the midst of facing a campaign scandal after a report in September revealed that the United States Naval Academy blocked Sherrill from taking part in her graduation amid the cheating scandal. The three New Jersey Republicans in the U.S. House are demanding Sherrill release her military records connected to the major cheating scandal at the Naval Academy in 1994.
Democrats have since called for an investigation into the release of Sherrill’s files after it was revealed the National Personnel Records Center released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information such as her social security number, to a Ciattarelli ally.
Sherrill has slammed the release of the report and said she was banned from walking at her graduation because she declined to report classmates who were involved in the scandal.
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