Today, Mikie Sherrill — a former U.S. Navy helicopter aircraft commander, former federal prosecutor, U.S. Congresswoman, and mom of four — launched her campaign for governor, on a mission to get big things done for New Jersey. In her announcement video, Sherrill shares how she will bring new leadership and a fresh perspective to New Jersey to build more housing, grow the economy, lower costs for families, and defend our freedoms.

On Tuesday, Sherrill will hit the road to hear from New Jerseyans about the issues that matter most and what they want for our future. Her first stop will be Eva’s Village in Paterson to visit with New Jerseyans in need along with Mayor Andre Sayegh. Then, she will meet with LiUNA members working at the Rutgers Cancer Institute construction project in New Brunswick. Next, she will speak with patients and providers at the Visiting Nurses Association’s (VNA) Red Bank Community Health Center. Finally, Tuesday’s tour will end in Atlantic City with the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association — the state’s largest firefighters union.

We’ve been through a lot these past couple of years. 

There’ve been crises in this country, all over the world, and here in New Jersey.

And after this election, we know people are more divided than ever on how to move forward.

I’m Mikie Sherrill.

As a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Navy helicopter aircraft commander, here’s something I learned early on:

In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is freeze. 

You have to choose to lead, to follow, or get out of the way.

So we can either stand aside, or we can get to work on New Jersey’s future.

And I know which one I pick. In New Jersey, we don’t whine, we work.

Every time I pass that bridge in Trenton and see the sign, “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” — I think, “Hell yeah, that’s New Jersey.”

This is the state, more than any other, that guaranteed our freedom as we fought for independence.

This is the state that built this nation. And while we were at it, we even invented the light bulb.

We’ve always been unafraid to do the big things — because we’re inventors and innovators and builders. 

And we work with our minds and our hands.

So let’s be the state that builds more housing, let’s fix the economy, let’s make life more affordable for hardworking New Jerseyans, from health care to groceries to childcare.

These challenges aren’t new and it’s time to confront them head on.

We can also be the state that sets the gold standard for protecting rights and freedoms, and we know they’ll be under attack from Donald Trump’s Washington.

Because in New Jersey, we love our country, we’re proud of our state, and we value our freedoms.

We’ll defend them with everything we’ve got.

In the Navy, I was on a mission to protect our country. 

Now, I’m announcing my candidacy for governor, on a mission to get things done for New Jersey.

This will be a campaign we build together because we all have a place and a say in New Jersey’s future.

And I’ve met so many people who believe as deeply as I do in the promise of our state. And I’m asking you to join us.

So New Jersey, let’s build something.

Mikie Sherrill is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former helicopter aircraft commander who served in the Navy for nearly 10 years. She worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney to keep communities safe and get illegal guns off our streets. In her first-ever run for office, she led a grassroots movement and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. Her campaign — where she drove an entrenched Republican incumbent out of the race — marked the biggest swing from red to blue in the country that year.

As a mother of four, Sherrill is a strong voice in Congress for New Jersey families. She is working hard to bring down costs — whether it’s grocery prices, child care, or Trump’s SALT cap that punished New Jerseyans. After constant roadblocks from the Christie and Trump administrations, she helped deliver New Jersey’s fair share of federal funding on the Gateway Tunnel Project — the single-largest infrastructure project in American history, which will create good-paying union jobs and reduce commute times. She is fighting for reproductive freedom, defending abortion rights, as well as access to contraception and IVF. She sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

In 2023, Sherrill was named the most effective New Jersey House lawmaker by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking for her years of work delivering for Garden State residents.

Sherrill and her husband Jason, a fellow Naval Academy graduate, live in Montclair, and have four children. Her eldest daughter is currently serving in the U.S. Navy, following in her parents’ path of service. Sherrill holds a Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master’s degree in Global History from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a law degree from Georgetown University.