Sherrill campaigns with Whitmer and Moore in New Jersey governor race

New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, is making a final push before election Day, campaigning alongside Democratic governments. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland are considered potential 2028 presidential candidates.

As Sherrill’s campaign prepares for a high-level campaign collaboration, former President Barack Obama endorsed Sherrill’s gubernatorial campaign on Friday.

“This November, we have an opportunity to chart a different path forward — to reject chaos in Washington and low costs in New Jersey — and I am so grateful to have the support and endorsement of President Obama in this race,” Sherrill said in a statement, praising Obama’s leadership on health care amid the government shutdown as Democrats in congress seek to extend health care premiums that are set to expire this year.

Cheryl will rally with Whitmer in Paramus, New Jersey, on Saturday morning. Later, she will join Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin at the “No Kings” rally in Montclair — one of hundreds of rallies scheduled across the country in rejection of President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda for his second term.

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On Sunday, Sherrill will host a policy roundtable with Moore and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Baraka was one of several Democratic candidates vying for the New Jersey governor’s nomination earlier this year.

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Baraka made national headlines during his campaign when he was arrested for trespassing at Delaney Hall, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, while protesting earlier this year. He was later accused of promoting toxic work environments for women.

After the policy roundtable on Sunday, Sherrill and Moore will conduct polls in Newark before attending an Oktoberfest event in Hamilton later that day.

A Fox News poll conducted Thursday showed Sherrill leading her Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, by five points among likely voters in New Jersey (50-45%), down from an eight-point lead in late September (50-42%). With the race to replace Governor Phil Murphy, who is term-limited in the Garden State this year, Sherrill’s lead over Ciattarelli has tightened, within the poll’s margin of sampling error.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy headlines a campaign event for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, on October 15, 2025, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

New Jersey is one of two statewide elections in the United States this year that will be considered a bellwether ahead of competitive midterm elections expected next year.

The race for the Garden State’s top job has become increasingly hostile between Sherrill and Ciattarelli in the final weeks before Election Day. While Trump is not on the ballot, he looms large over New Jersey’s gubernatorial election.

In the second and final debate last week, Sherrill accused her GOP rival of “showing no signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself has described Jack as 100% MAGA, and he has shown every sign of being one.”

Asked if he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was “part of the New Jersey movement.”

When asked to rate the president’s performance so far during his second term, Chiattarelli said, “I would definitely give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything he does.”

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, left, looks on as Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill speaks during the final debate in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Heather Khalifa/AP)

“I think this tells us everything we need to know about who supports Jack Ciattarelli. I give him an F right now,” Cheryl replied, noting the high cost of living in New Jersey.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are fiercely competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five of the past 10 elections.

Trump made significant gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by just 6 percentage points, an improvement from his 16-point deficit four years ago.

Sherrill’s press conference came the day after multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump would hold teleconference rallies with Ciattarelli.

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In an election expected to be low in turnout, Trump’s support could be crucial for Schiatarelli, who is making his third run for governor after narrowly losing to Murphy four years ago.