On Wednesday, February 19, New Jersey’s leading environmental advocacy organization, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (New Jersey LCV), endorsed Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s campaign to serve as the next Governor of the Garden State.

“Based on Mikie Sherrill’s outstanding record of environmental leadership in Congress, New Jersey LCV has concluded she is far and away the best candidate to deliver bold environmental policy leadership that will make a crucial difference in fighting the climate crisis, lowering energy costs, and protecting our environment and every New Jersey family’s right to breathe clean air and drink pure water,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director, New Jersey LCV. “At a time when our environment is under unprecedented attack from Donald Trump, Congresswoman Sherrill has the courage to stand up for New Jersey’s working families against dirty oil and gas CEOs. And she has the ability to unite people across New Jersey from all walks of life around a shared vision of a brighter and more prosperous future for us all.”

“Since Day One, this has been a campaign we’re building together to address New Jersey’s most pressing challenges. That includes protecting our environment, and I’m honored to have the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters’ endorsement as we fight for cleaner and healthier communities across the Garden State. As governor, I’ll make bold investments to fix our grid and transition to clean energy — not only will it create good-paying jobs of the future, it will produce emission-free energy sources while bringing more price stability for families’ utilities,” said Mikie Sherrill. “While Elon Musk and President Trump try to roll back our efforts to combat climate change, we have to chart a different path forward in New Jersey. I will work every day to reduce energy costs, build flood-resilient infrastructure, protect our open spaces, and make sure that every one of our children can drink clean water and breathe clean air, no matter their ZIP code. Let’s get to work!”

Congresswoman Sherrill’s leadership in Washington and on the ground in New Jersey has made a critical difference in securing multiple major legislative victories in recent years that boosted clean energy, protected New Jersey communities from the impacts of climate change and created union jobs.

She championed provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address methane emissions that have long plagued low-income communities as well as landmark legislation  for clean energy that will create jobs and lower energy costs. Sherrill also helped secure $72 million to improve resiliency up and down the Jersey Shore, protecting communities from the increasingly severe storms caused by climate change in ways that revitalize sensitive ecosystems and expand access to open space.

Sherrill’s aggressive support of clean energy and environmental protections is more important than ever, as Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented attack on the environment, seeking to further enrich oil and gas billionaires, who are already enjoying Federal subsidies and reaping record profits, at the expense of the health and safety of New Jersey residents.

Congresswoman Sherill has been a leader on the environment from her earliest days in Congress, working with local officials to understand their most pressing concerns and driving federal action towards solutions. She collaborated with six municipalities to kickstart and deliver funding for a regional flood mitigation initiative for the Whippany River, and advanced flood mitigation projects with the Army Corps of Engineers after decades of delays. She has proven she can deliver  during her tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, helping local communities take on issues that threaten our air and drinking water, like PFAS (forever chemicals) contamination and lead service lines. She knows what it takes to address our biggest challenges and is the person we need in Trenton during this unprecedented assault on our environmental future.

Sherrill has also worked with local elected officials, state agencies, and environmental organizations to secure funding for NJ TRANSIT to prevent more “Summers of Hell” and reduce emissions, and has outlined a comprehensive strategy to put NJ TRANSIT’s long-term budget on a sustainable footing.

With Trump seeking to roll back federal clean energy investments and environmental regulations, it is more important than ever that New Jersey have a governor in Trenton who will fight for our state’s working families by vigorously enforcing laws that keep our air and water safe and by doubling down on our state’s commitment to fighting climate change.

New Jersey LCV issued this endorsement after a comprehensive process designed to identify the candidate with the strongest environmental vision who combined with the ability to build the broad-based coalition necessary to win and govern in one of the most diverse states in the nation.

The organization’s board, which voted on the endorsement, required two-thirds of its members to approve and conducted extensive interviews with the candidates currently in the race.

By making this endorsement so early in the election cycle, New Jersey LCV is elevating the importance of strong climate action and environmental protection. Today’s announcement is the first step of a comprehensive and well-funded electoral effort to elect Sherrill because of her bold vision for the environment that will strengthen New Jersey families by lowering costs and creating jobs.

“From sanitation to flood risk management to reducing and eliminating the dangers of ‘forever’ PFAS chemicals, Mikie Sherrill has led on issue after issue to help reduce environment-caused risk to every day New Jerseyans and their families,” said Randy Jones, New Jersey LCV Board Chair. “For all these reasons and more, Congresswoman Sherrill has earned New Jersey LCV’s full confidence. Congresswoman Sherrill will serve as an outstanding Governor for New Jersey and will protect our environment and public health needs for years to come.”