Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), due to take office as governor of New Jersey in just over two months, gave her final House floor speech this evening, bidding farewell to the chamber that served as her start in politics and that launched her into the governorship.
Sherrill also announced what many have wondered since her landslide victory in last Tuesday’s gubernatorial election: she will submit her letter of resignation from the House next week, kicking off a special election to take her seat in the 11th congressional district. (The New Jersey Globe reported her intentions earlier today.) She did not, however, say precisely when her resignation will take effect, leaving the special election’s exact schedule in limbo.
“This will be my last speech in this chamber. I intend to submit my resignation next week and turn to protecting all of New Jersey,” Sherrill said. “So my parting message to Jersey is, thank you.”
A former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, Sherrill was elected to Congress in 2018, beginning that year’s cycle as a political unknown and ending it as one of the top Democratic recruits in the country. At the time, the 11th congressional district in suburban North Jersey had been represented by a Republican for more than three decades; Sherrill spooked Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) into retirement and proceeded to win the open seat by 14 points.
Sherrill was re-elected in 2020, then was given a far safer seat by New Jersey’s redistricting commission and easily won new terms in 2022 and 2024. Shortly after winning her fourth and final House term last year, she announced that she would run for governor, and proceeded to rack up two dominant wins: first in the Democratic primary against five formidable opponents, then in the general election in a 14-point landslide over Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
During her seven years in Congress, Sherrill has held a seat on the Armed Services Committee, and made national security a cornerstone of her congressional office’s focus. In her speech tonight, she listed a number of other accomplishments she’s been a part of: funding the Gateway Tunnel, passing the Honoring Our PACT Act, and protecting Morris County’s Picatinny Arsenal.
Sherrill also used her speech to attack the government funding bill that will come up for a vote tonight, saying that its failure to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies will harm hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans. And she closed her remarks with a warning for her fellow representatives.
“To my colleagues: do not let this body become a ceremonial red stamp for an administration that takes food away from children and rips healthcare away from people,” Sherrill said.
“To the country: stand strong,” she continued. “As we say in the Navy: Do not give up the ship.”
