Maine Gov. Janet Mills has endorsed Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey.
“When it comes to protecting democracy and the rule of law, Democratic governors are on the front lines. New Jersey needs a real fighter to stand up to Trump — just like I did at the White House — and I know that’s Mikie Sherrill,” Mills said. “From her service in the Navy, Mikie knows that real leaders run toward the fight. Mikie is strongest when times are the toughest, and I am proud to endorse her candidacy for governor.”
Mills, joined by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, headlined a fundraiser this week for One Giant Leap, a super PAC supporting Sherrill in the upcoming June 10 Democratic primary.
Governors in Maine and New Jersey have been linked before: then-Gov. Paul LePage endorsed Chris Christie for the Republican presidential nomination. LePage sought a political comeback in 2022 in a bid to deny Mills a second term; she won by thirteen percentage points.
Mills is one of eight women Democratic governors in the U.S, with New Jersey and Virginia being the only states with gubernatorial elections this year; Virginia has nominated a Democrat, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who had been Sherrill’s housemate in Washington during his six years in Congress.
“Governor Janet Mills has gone toe-to-toe with Donald Trump and shown us all how to stand up to the bully in the White House, and I’m honored to have her endorsement,” Sherrill said. “Democratic governors are on the front lines fighting back against Trump’s chaos in Washington. From protecting abortion rights to growing our economy in the face of Trump’s destructive tariff policy and federal cuts, women governors are leading the way.”
In addition to Maine and Massachusetts, Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon have elected Democratic women as governors. Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, and New Hampshire have Republican women governors.
If Sherrill wins, she will become the first woman governor of New Jersey since Republican Christie Todd Whitman resigned during her eighth year in office to join President George W. Bush’s cabinet in 2001.