Sherrill says she has a mandate as New Jersey’s next governor and will focus on affordability

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill said Wednesday she believes she has a mandate to fulfill campaign promises of making the state more affordable, and the Democrat is dialing back on her criticism of Republican President Donald Trump for now.

Her comments came as she sets up her administration and as Democrats celebrated victories in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and New York City.

Sherrill met with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., in his statehouse office, where they discussed the transition.

Asked if her double-digit victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli meant she had a mandate, the congresswoman said, “Yes, I do, a big one.”

She did not directly address how prevailing as a centrist in a state that had been shifting to the right in recent years squares with the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who appealed strongly to the Democrats’ progressive wing, as New York mayor.

Sherrill stuck to her core campaign message: “The reason I was so focused on affordability issues is because my communities are focused on affordability issues and how they’re going to be successful,” she said.

She has promised to use an executive order to freeze monthly electricity bills and said she wants to expand a program for first-time homebuyers.

A key part of her campaign speech centered on Trump’s tariffs, calling them “a worldwide extortion racket,” and she cast him as a chief foil in the race.

Sherrill said she had not spoken to Trump yet but was “certainly” willing to work on getting federal money into the state, particularly on the Gateway rail tunnel project connecting the state with Manhattan. The Trump administration has frozen money for it amid the government shutdown.

In defeating Ciattarelli, Sherrill flipped counties that had gone to the Republicans during last year’s presidential election and in earlier races for governor.

She had a strong performance among nonwhite voters, winning about 7 in 10 in this group, according to the AP Voter Poll, a sweeping survey of more than 4,000 voters in New Jersey. That is a promising sign for Democrats, who have tried to win back nonwhite voters after Trump made gains with the group in 2024. Sherrill also won about half the state’s white voters, who made up 7 in 10 voters.

About 9 in 10 of Black voters supported Sherrill, as did about 8 in 10 Asian voters. Hispanic voters were more divided, but about two-thirds supported Sherrill. Only about 3 in 10 Hispanics voted for Ciattarelli.

Trump made inroads with the Black and Hispanic communities last year, particularly in New Jersey, where he shaved the Democratic victory to just 6 percentage points from 16 points in 2020.

The poll also shed some light on economic messaging.

Sherrill won about 7 in 10 voters who said their family’s finances were “falling behind.” That portion represented about one-quarter of voters, according to the poll.

“What I saw was that our message was resonating,” she said.

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.