Democrat Mikie Sherrill has named State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) as her gubernatorial campaign chairman, giving the experienced political tactician and prodigious fundraiser a major role as she builds out her general election campaign in a competitive statewide race.
Gopal will take on a leading fundraising role and serve as one of her campaign surrogates.
“Our campaign is full speed ahead to win in November, and we’re assembling the team to do just that. So I couldn’t be more excited to announce Senator Vin Gopal as our campaign chair,” Sherrill said. “Vin has been a tireless supporter of our campaign in Monmouth and an important partner as I take on the bad actors that are driving up prescription drug prices. And just as I do, Vin knows what it takes to win tough races and will be an essential part of our operation to beat Jack and protect the state we all love.”
Karin Elkis, a former top aide to three U.S. Senators and now a lobbyist at a politically connected South Jersey firm run by Phil Norcross, will serve as vice chair. She chairs the New Jersey-Israel Commission, and her role suggests that South Jersey Democrats — Phil Norcross is the brother of powerbroker George Norcross — are now in Sherrill’s camp.
Other vice chairs include Justin Dews, a Jersey City lawyer who served as associate White House counsel in the Biden Administration and senior counsel to Gov. Phil Murphy, who now heads Murphy’s Clemency Advisory Board, and former U.S. Senate candidate Patricia Campos-Medina.
She said the vice chairs have the “talent and expertise” to build a broad coalition.
Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman, faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli in what looks to be a highly competitive general election. She won the June 10 Democratic primary by fourteen percentage points.
“Mikie is a proven bipartisan leader who has a history of community service and bringing people together. Whether it is her service in the military, as a prosecutor, or as a Member of Congress, she has always put service first,” said Gopal. “We contrast that with career politician Jack Ciattarelli, who has been running for office for 40 years, unsuccessfully for governor multiple times, and has taken every policy position possible. He has already made it clear that the only person he plans to answer to is Donald Trump, not the people of New Jersey. This election couldn’t have a clearer contrast.”
The decision to put Gopal in the chair role appears to take him out of any consideration as a candidate for lieutenant governor. Campos Medina is an expert at labor and Latino voter mobilization, two priorities for a statewide Democratic candidate in New Jersey.
Gopal is a former Monmouth County Democratic chairman who helped his party flip two Republican Assembly seats in Monmouth County in 2015 and again in 2023. He ousted a three-term Republican state senator in 2017 and has been re-elected twice in a swing district; he won by more than twenty points in 2023. He chairs the Senate Education Committee and is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership.
In February, Sherrill won a lopsided 73%-21% victory at the Monmouth County Democratic convention.