As New Jersey’s six-way Democratic primary for governor tests alliances and pits friends against friends, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) has earned an endorsement from one of her former congressional colleagues: former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), who held the 7th district from 2019 to 2023.
“Of all the fine Democrats who’ve stepped forward to run for governor of New Jersey this year, Mikie stands out for me as the right person for this moment – the person who best embodies the spirit of the 2018 Blue Wave in which we were both elected, and who understands how to make New Jersey part of a Blue Wall of states standing up to Trump,” Malinowski said.
Since last year, Malinowski has been the chairman of the Hunterdon County Democratic organization, which voted to endorse Sherrill at a party convention in February. That win meant Sherrill can use the party’s official slogan on the June primary ballots, but it didn’t automatically come with support from Malinowski (and, thanks to the demise of the county line, it won’t otherwise affect how the ballots are designed).
This is the second time Malinowski has gotten involved in one of the state’s recent competitive primaries; last year, he supported then-Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown)’s eventually victorious Senate campaign over First Lady Tammy Murphy. That endorsement, notably, came in opposition to the New Jersey political establishment, which was overwhelmingly backing Murphy – and which had never been the best of friends with Malinowski.
In backing Sherrill, though, Malinowski is going in the opposite direction. Although all of the six Democratic candidates running for governor have varying levels of institutional support, Sherrill has the lion’s share of party backing, including official party endorsements in seven of the state’s ten largest counties; she has also led in every publicly available poll of the primary thus far.
Malinowski could stand to benefit himself from a Sherrill governorship – either from a possible posting in her administration, or from a hypothetical special election campaign to succeed Sherrill in the 11th congressional district. (After losing his own seat in 2022 to Republican Tom Kean Jr., Malinowski still lives squarely in the 7th district, but the two suburban districts are similar in many ways, with the biggest exception being that the 11th is far bluer.)
The endorsement means that Sherrill now has backing from three of her current or former New Jersey congressional colleagues; Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and former Rep. Albio Sires, now the mayor of West New York, are supporting her as well. Sherrill and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) each also have endorsements from a number of out-of-state House colleagues.
Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) and LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) are both supporting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who would be the state’s first Black governor if elected. And Reps. Herb Conaway (D-Delran) and Donald Norcross (D-Camden) are backing former State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who wants to be the first South Jerseyan in the governor’s office since Jim Florio.
Alongside the Malinowski endorsement, Sherrill also unveiled her New Jersey Online Safety Agenda today, a broad plan that she says would help protect New Jerseyans, especially kids, from the potential dangers of social media and technology.
The plan focuses on four key areas: shielding kids from overexposure to social media and cell phones; pushing social media companies to be held accountable for extremist content; fighting back against social media-based scams; and ensuring that artificial intelligence is developed safely and transparently. Among her ideas, notably, is a ban on the use of cell phones in public schools, a proposal which Gov. Phil Murphy is currently fighting for.
The agenda, Malinowski said today, is one of the key motivating factors behind his endorsement.
“The plan she released today to address the harm tech billionaires are doing to our democracy and to our kids is the most comprehensive I have seen from any candidate in the country,” Malinowski said. “She has my enthusiastic endorsement.”