Democrats woke up to a rude awakening Thursday morning. The New Jersey governor’s race — once thought to be safely in their column — is suddenly a dead heat.
An Emerson College poll now has Democrat Mikie Sherrill tied with Republican Jack Ciattarelli at 43 percent each, with 14 percent still up for grabs.
Not long ago, Democrats were bragging about Sherrill’s nearly double-digit lead. Now that cushion has completely evaporated. The supposed “blue state lock” is looking shakier by the day — and Democrats have every reason to panic.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said the poll “reveals a tightly contested race in the Garden State.” He added some context to the results, noting, “Young voters, under 40, break for Sherrill by large margins, 58% to 24%.
NEW JERSEY POLL with @PIX11News & @thehill
2025 Governor's Election
Mikie Sherrill 43%
Jack Ciattarelli 43%
Someone else 3%
11% undecidedhttps://t.co/KzzJboSfHb pic.twitter.com/7eku1Bjj69— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) September 25, 2025
“The race tightens to seven points among voters in their 40s, with Sherrill leading 47% to 40%, then Ciattarelli flips the script among voters over 50, leading Sherrill 52% to 36% among this group,” he added.
The sudden surge for Ciattarelli may have something to do with his hard-hitting ads spotlighting Sherrill’s struggle to clearly explain her own legislative priorities. And let’s be honest — watching her stumble through answers is pure Kamala Harris déjà vu. Painful:
?Check out our new TV ad and see exactly who Mikie is…
Not a serious candidate, with no real plans. Even Democrats have denounced her and endorsed my candidacy.
New Jersey can’t afford more of the same. It’s time to fix the state we all love. When I’m Governor, we will put… pic.twitter.com/21MYHBLT0i— Jack Ciattarelli (@Jack4NJ) September 15, 2025
And then there’s the elephant in the room — the fortune Mikie Sherrill has managed to pile up since landing in Congress back in 2019. For someone who claims to “fight for the little guy,” her bank account tells a very different story.
According to one report, “In her 2019 financial disclosures, Sherrill reported assets totaling between $733,209 and $4,321,000. By 2024, those figures had ballooned to between $4,840,076 and $13,975,000.”
Let’s not forget the cash factor — Sherrill has stacked up a staggering amount of wealth during her short stint in Congress. Since 2019, she’s been living the high life while preaching about “working families.”
The hypocrisy practically writes itself. Nancy Pelosi is proud, though.
