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Mikie Sherrill

Mikie Sherrill
Mikie Sherrill
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byRodney Frelinghuysen
Personal details
Born
Rebecca Michelle Sherrill

(1972-01-19) January 19, 1972 (age 53)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJason Hedberg
Children4
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (BS)
London School of Economics (MSc)
Georgetown University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1994–2003
RankLieutenant

Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill[1][2] (/ˈmaɪki/ MY-kee; born January 19, 1972)[3] is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor[4] serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban and exurban areas west of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, Sherrill was elected on November 6, 2018.[2][5] She was reelected in 2020 by a slightly narrower margin and reelected in 2022 by a wide margin.[6] She is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey.[7]

Early life and education

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Sherrill was born in Alexandria, Virginia.[2] She grew up in various locations along the East Coast of the United States due to her father's job.[2][8]

Sherrill is a graduate of South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia.[9][10] In 1994, she earned her B.S. from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.[1] In 2003, Sherrill received an MSc in international and world history from the London School of Economics. In 2004, she received a certificate in Arabic language from the American University in Cairo. In 2007, Sherrill earned a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.[11]

Military career

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Inspired by her grandfather who served as a pilot in World War II, Sherrill wanted to be a pilot from a young age.[11] She was among the flight school graduates in the first class of women eligible for direct assignment to fly combat aircraft.[12] After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1994, Sherrill completed over a year of flight training, was designated as a Naval Aviator after graduation from the advanced rotary-wing training pipeline at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and became a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot flying the H-3 Sea King.[2] Sherrill flew missions throughout Europe and in the Middle East.[8][11] In 2000, she was based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.

Following her first operational sea duty assignment in a flying squadron, Sherrill was a Russian policy officer assigned to the then-Headquarters, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR).[2][13]

Sherrill served on active duty in the United States Navy for nine years, the final five in the rank of Lieutenant.[14] In 2003 Sherrill was nominated for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.[15] She left the Navy in 2003 before obtaining a permanent promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.[16][failed verification]

Law career

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In the summer of 2007, while earning her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center, Sherrill was a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis.[17] After graduation from Georgetown University Law Center, Sherrill returned to Kirkland & Ellis's New York City office, where she worked in the litigation department from 2008 to 2011.[18]

After leaving Kirkland & Ellis, Sherrill joined the United States Attorneys' Office as an outreach and reentry coordinator.[19] In 2015, Sherrill became an assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, a federal prosecutor, working under U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.[2][20] She left that office in 2016.[8] At the time, she planned on going into the field of criminal justice reform.[11]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Sherrill with President Joe Biden, Denis McDonough, Kathleen Rice, and Elissa Slotkin in 2021

Elections

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2018

[edit]
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 11

On May 11, 2017, Sherrill launched her campaign for New Jersey's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[21][22] The seat had been held by 12-term Republican incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who in January 2018 announced he would not seek reelection.[10][23][24] The district had long been considered a Republican stronghold, even after it had been made slightly more Democratic on paper by pushing it further into Essex County, including a slice of Montclair around Sherrill's home. Frelinghuysen had been reelected three more times from this redrawn district without serious difficulty, but was thought to be vulnerable after Donald Trump carried it by just a single point in 2016.[25]

In November 2017, comedian Chelsea Handler, who is from Livingston, went to Montclair to show her support for Sherrill's campaign.[26] Sherrill was endorsed by the political action committee organization VoteVets.org,[27] the pro-choice Democratic PAC EMILY's List,[28] the editorial board of The New York Times,[29] and the New Jersey chapter of Clean Water Action.[30]

In June 2018, Sherrill won the Democratic primary with 77% of the vote, beating social worker and entrepreneur Tamara Harris.[31][32][33]

Sherrill raised $2.8 million during the primary election, placing her among the top House fundraisers in the country.[34][35] Her campaign raised $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2018, setting a record for a House candidate from New Jersey in one quarter.[36]

On November 6, Sherrill defeated Republican Jay Webber with 56.8% of the vote to Webber's 42.1%.[37][38] The election marked the largest partisan vote share swing in the 2018 cycle, with a 33-percentage-point swing from a 19-point Republican margin in 2016 to a 15-point Democratic one in 2018.[39][40] Sherrill is the first Democrat to win this seat since 16-term incumbent Joseph Minish was defeated in 1984 after the district had been redrawn to be more Republican.[41] She was the first Democrat since Minish's defeat to win more than 40% of the district's vote.

2020

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See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 11

Sherrill had a closer contest for reelection in 2020, defeating Republican tax lawyer Rosemary Becchi with 53.3% of the vote to 46.7%. That year Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the 11th district since it assumed its present configuration in 1984, carrying the district with 52.7% of the vote.[42][43]

2022

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See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 11

With redistricting following the 2020 census, the 11th District became somewhat friendlier for Sherrill. It was pushed further into Essex County while losing its share of heavily Republican Sussex County. Had the district existed in 2020, Biden would have carried it with 58 percent of the vote.[44] Sherrill won by a much wider margin than 2020, defeating Republican Paul DeGroot with 59% of the vote to 40.2%.[45]

2024

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See also: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 11

In 2024, Sherrill easily won the Democratic primary over real estate consultant Mark De Lotto with 93.6% of the vote.[46] In the November general election, Sherrill was re-elected with 56.5% of the vote over Belleville building inspector Joseph Belnome. Sherrill outperformed the Democratic Party's concurrent candidates for President and Senate, as Kamala Harris only won 53% of the district's vote, while Andy Kim won 54%.[47] The New Jersey Globe partially attributed Belnome's political unpopularity to his attendance at the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[46]

Tenure

[edit]

Following her election, Sherrill joined the moderate New Democrat Coalition, the second-largest Democratic caucus in the House, and was named its freshman whip.[48] She also joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of moderate and conservative House Democrats, but later left the group in 2023.[49] She joined two other female veterans in the Democratic freshman class, fellow Naval Academy graduate Elaine Luria and former Air Force officer Chrissy Houlahan.

Per a promise to her constituents, Sherrill did not vote for Nancy Pelosi to retake the speakership, instead voting for Cheri Bustos of Illinois.[50] She voted "present", essentially an abstention, in her second Speakership vote.[51]

In 2019, Sherrill initially opposed exploring the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, but she changed her mind in September after a whistleblower alleged that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden.[52] According to one report, Sherrill was instrumental in motivating House speaker Nancy Pelosi to proceed with the impeachment inquiry and said her "grave concerns" about Trump's behavior were "rooted in self-sacrifice and principle".[53] An op-ed she co-wrote with six other freshman Democrats with national security backgrounds—Houlahan, Luria, Gil Cisneros, Jason Crow, Elissa Slotkin and Abigail Spanberger—said that "everything we do harks back to our oaths to defend the country" and described the claims against Trump as "a threat to all we have sworn to protect".[54]

Sherrill indicated her support for a second impeachment of Trump after the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[55] She said she had seen some colleagues giving what she called "reconnaissance tours" of the building the day before the attack.[56][57][58]

Sherrill voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[59]

According to FiveThirtyEight, Sherrill has voted with Biden 92.6% of the time in the 118th Congress through 2023, while Democrats in Congress voted with Biden 93% of the time on average.[60]

On February 1, 2023, Sherrill was among twelve Democrats to vote for a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.[61][62]

In 2023, Sherrill criticized the implementation of congestion pricing in lower Manhattan, New York City. She described the congestion pricing plan as "New York's greedy cash grab from New Jersey commuters."[63]

On July 9, 2024, Sherrill became the seventh House member to publicly request President Biden step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 United States presidential election.[64]

Committee assignments, 118th Congress

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Caucus memberships

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Electoral history

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2018 Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill 35,338 77.4
Democratic Tamara Harris 6,615 14.5
Democratic Mark Washburne 1,538 3.4
Democratic Alison Heslin 1,253 2.7
Democratic Mitchell H. Cobert 885 1.9
Total votes 45,629 100
New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill 183,684 56.8
Republican Jay Webber 136,322 42.1
Independent Robert Crook 2,182 0.7
Libertarian Ryan Martinez 1,386 0.4
Total votes 323,574 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
2020 Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) 79,961 100.0
Total votes 79,961 100.0
New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) 235,163 53.3
Republican Rosemary Becchi 206,013 46.7
Total votes 441,176 100.0
Democratic hold
New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) 161,436 59.0
Republican Paul DeGroot 109,952 40.2
Libertarian Joseph Biasco 2,276 0.8
Total votes 273,664 100.0
Democratic hold
New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2024[72]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill (incumbent) 222,583 56.5
Republican Joseph Belnome 164,556 41.8
Green Lily Benavides 4,780 1.2
Independent Joshua Lanzara 1,832 0.5
Total votes 393,751 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

[edit]

Sherrill is married to Jason Hedberg, a fellow classmate and graduate of the United States Naval Academy,[73][74] who served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. The couple has lived in Montclair with their four children since 2010.[11][8]

Sherrill is Roman Catholic.[75]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Nominations – Naval Academy Graduates: Rebecca M. Sherrill". Congressional Record. 140 (53). May 5, 1994.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Aron, Michael; Sherrill, Mikie (February 17, 2018). "Season 2018 Episode 7: Congressional Candidate Mikie Sherrill" (Video interview). On the Record with Michael Aron, NJTV. PBS.
  3. ^ "Rebecca Michelle 'Mikie' Sherrill". Archives of Women's Political Communication. Iowa State University. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Tackett, Michael (January 29, 2018). "From Annapolis to Congress? These Three Women Know Tough Missions". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Ruiz, Michelle (August 31, 2017). "Welcome to the Trump Jump: These Women Are Ready to Take On the Most Powerful Men in Congress". Vogue.
  6. ^ "New Jersey Election Results: 11th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "Gottheimer, Sherrill will enter N.J. governor's race". New Jersey Globe. November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Friedman, Matt (May 12, 2017). "New Jersey Playbook Interview: House candidate Mikie Sherrill". Politico.
  9. ^ "Sherrill, Mikie". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  10. ^ a b Fouriezos, Nick (May 24, 2018). "Mikie Sherrill flew helicopters for the U.S. Now she wants to turn D.C. blue". KYTX.
  11. ^ a b c d e Mallon, Maggie (September 1, 2017). "Mikie Sherrill Once Flew Helicopter Missions in the Navy—Now She's Running for Congress". Glamour.
  12. ^ Walsh, Michael (July 10, 2018). "The New Jersey race that could be key to Democrats retaking the House". Yahoo News. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Danzis, David (March 16, 2018). "Sherrill's service to country not finished yet". New Jersey Herald.
  14. ^ Ballotpedia, Encyclopedia of American Politics, Bio of Mikie Sherrill. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. ^ "To be Lieutenant Commander: Rebecca M Sherrill" (PDF). Congressional Record. 149 (119): S11048. September 3, 2003.
  16. ^ Izzo, Michael (May 11, 2017). "Former Navy pilot challenges Frelinghuysen". Daily Record. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  17. ^ "2007 New York, Summer Associates: Rebecca Sherrill" (PDF). Kirkland & Ellis. 2007.
  18. ^ "2008 Fall Associates, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, NY: Rebecca Sherrill" (PDF). Kirkland & Ellis. 2008.
  19. ^ LinkedIn [self-published source]
  20. ^ "United States v. Francisco Vallejo, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus" (PDF). United States District Court District of New Jersey. June 1, 2016. Rebecca M. Sherrill, U.S. District Attorney
  21. ^ Kiefer, Eric (May 11, 2017). "Montclair Woman, Ex-Prosecutor To Challenge Frelinghuysen For Congress". Montclair, NJ Patch.
  22. ^ Zaremba, Justin (May 11, 2017). "Ex-Navy helicopter pilot plans to challenge Rep. Frelinghuysen". NJ.com.
  23. ^ Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. (January 29, 2018). "Statement of Representative Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ-11)" (Press release). Rodney P. Frelinghuysen.
  24. ^ Jordan, Mary (February 7, 2018). "After Iraq and Afghanistan, pioneering women in the military set sights on Congress". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ Herb Jackson (May 22, 2017). "Is Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen really vulnerable in 2018?". The Record.
  26. ^ Kaulessar, Ricardo (November 1, 2017). "No joke! Chelsea Handler comes to Montclair for politics" (Includes video). NorthJersey.com.
  27. ^ "VoteVets PAC Endorses Mikie Sherrill for Congress". VoteVets.org.
  28. ^ "Mikie Sherrill, U.S. House, New Jersey". EMILY's List. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  29. ^ Editorial Board (May 28, 2018). "Opinion: Mikie Sherrill for New Jersey Democrats". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Helping Elect Pro-Environmental Candidates to Congress". Clean Water Action. June 11, 2018.
  31. ^ Corasanti, Nick; Flegenheimer, Matt (June 5, 2018). "Democrats Gain Spots to Battle for Crucial House Seats in New Jersey". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Salant, Jonathan D. (June 5, 2018). "Former Navy pilot, ex-Obama officials to lead Jersey Dem charge to win House at Trump midterm". NJ.com.
  33. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (June 5, 2018). "New Jersey Primary Election Results". The New York Times.
  34. ^ Stiles, Charles (June 4, 2018). "Mikie Sherrill and other women 'appalled' by Donald Trump make record run for Congress". NorthJersey.com. USA Today.
  35. ^ Golshan, Tara; Prokop, Andrew (June 5, 2018). "Live results for New Jersey's Senate and House primary races". Vox Media.
  36. ^ Jackson, Herb (July 16, 2018). "Shattering NJ record, Mikie Sherrill raises $1.9 million for House race". North Jersey. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  37. ^ "N.J. Election 2018: Mikie Sherrill wins House seat for Democrats, beats Jay Webber". NJ.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  38. ^ "New Jersey's 11th Congressional District election, 2018 – Ballotpedia". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  39. ^ Shkolnikova, Svetlana. "Can Mikie Sherrill keep a seat in Republican stronghold that Trump helped turn blue?". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  40. ^ "New Jersey Election Results 2018: U.S. House, New Jersey 11th congressional district", Politico.
  41. ^ Narvaez, Alfonso A. (November 11, 1984). "Minish Considers Causes of His Loss". The New York Times. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  42. ^ "New Jersey Election Results: 11th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  43. ^ Presidential results by congressional district from Daily Kos
  44. ^ "New Jersey Redistricting: Malinowski Draws the Short Straw". Inside Elections. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  45. ^ "New Jersey Election Results: 11th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  46. ^ a b Fox, Joey (June 5, 2024). "Sherrill beats first Dem primary challenger since taking office". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  47. ^ Fox, Joey (December 23, 2024). "Maps of the 2024 presidential race in every congressional and legislative district". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  48. ^ Connolly, Griffin; Connolly, Griffin (January 10, 2019). "Houlahan, Sherrill take leadership roles among freshman Dem moderates". Roll Call. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  49. ^ Lindsey McPherson (November 27, 2018). "Blue Dog Coalition Elects 3 New Co-Chairs to Lead Them in Next Congress". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  50. ^ "Here are the 15 Democrats who didn't vote for Pelosi as speaker". Roll Call. January 3, 2019.
  51. ^ Salant, Jonathan D. (January 4, 2021). "Only 5 House Democrats didn't support Nancy Pelosi for speaker. N.J.'s Mikie Sherrill was one of them". NJ.com.
  52. ^ Alia Slisco (October 3, 2019). "Trump 'Going Against the Constitution,' Dem. Rep. Mikie Sherrill Tells Chris Cuomo: 'Simply Not Acceptable'". Newsweek. Retrieved October 4, 2018. ...Sherrill ... had not been in favor of moving forward with the impeachment.... However, she stated that the recent allegation Trump asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden has provided an unambiguous case against the president.
  53. ^ Charles Stile (September 24, 2019). "How Mikie Sherrill's 'grave concerns' pushed Nancy Pelosi to impeachment". New Jersey Record. Retrieved October 4, 2018. ...By citing their past careers 'in the defense of our country,' Sherrill and her colleagues framed their statement as rooted in self-sacrifice and principle, not partisanship....
  54. ^ Michael Kruse (September 27, 2019). "'It Feels Like a 1776 Kind of Fight': A freshman congresswoman reckons with the historical weight of standing up to the president". Politico Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  55. ^ Salant, Jonathan D (January 9, 2021). "Rep. Mikie Sherrill was reticent about impeaching Trump the first time, but this time she says she's sure". nj. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  56. ^ Bowden, John (January 13, 2021). "New Jersey Democrat says members of Congress led 'reconnaissance' tours ahead of riot". The Hill. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  57. ^ Salcedo, Andrea. "Lawmakers gave groups 'reconnaissance' tours of the Capitol one day before riots, Democratic congresswoman says". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  58. ^ "Lawmakers condemn 'QAnon Congresswoman' Lauren Boebert after she tweeted Pelosi's movements during Capitol riots". The Independent. January 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  59. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  60. ^ "How often every member of Congress voted with Biden in 2023". ABC News. Retrieved February 16, 2024. The average Democratic representative sided with Biden on those votes 93 percent of the time, while the average Republican representative voted with the president 5 percent of the time.
  61. ^ "House passes resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency". February 2023.
  62. ^ "On Passage - H.J.RES.7: Relating to a national emergency declared by". August 12, 2015.
  63. ^ Fazelpoor, Matthew (December 1, 2023). "NJ reacts to proposed $15 congestion pricing toll". NJBIZ.
  64. ^ Nobles, Ryan (July 9, 2024). "Another House Democrat calls on Biden to step aside in 2024 race". NBC. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  65. ^ "Committees and Caucuses | Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill". sherrill.house.gov. January 3, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  66. ^ "Members | Select Committee on the CCP". selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov. June 30, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  67. ^ "New Democrat Coalition Inducts 30 Members-Elect and Elects New Leadership". New Democrat Coalition. November 30, 2018. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  68. ^ Biryukov, Nikita (February 3, 2021). "Sherrill to co-chair House GPS Caucus". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  69. ^ "Congressional Animal Protection Caucus - Members". September 13, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  70. ^ "For Country Caucus". March 28, 2022.
  71. ^ "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus". Every Life Foundation for Rare Diseases. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  72. ^ "Candidates for House of Representatives For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2024 Election, * denotes incumbent" (PDF). nj.gov. December 5, 2024. p. 16. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  73. ^ "Nominations – Naval Academy Graduates: Jason J. Hedberg". Congressional Record. 140 (53). May 5, 1994.
  74. ^ "USNA Men's Rugby Team: All Americans, Eight-Man. Jason Hedberg ('93, '94)". NBC Sports. 1994.
  75. ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). PEW Research Center. December 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 11th congressional district
2019–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
231st 		Succeeded by