Democrat Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill will be the next governor of New Jersey, the Associated Press projected.
Sherrill faced off in a competitive race against three-time gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli.
Sherrill, a U.S. Navy veteran and attorney from Essex County, prevailed despite a significant push by Republicans to elect Ciattarelli. The Republican challenger had received support from President Donald Trump.
The Democrat’s ticket, which included Rev. Dale Caldwell for lieutenant governor, leveraged national figures, including former President Barack Obama and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to campaign in the Garden State.
Caldwell, a university president, will become the next lieutenant governor.
Leading up to the general election, polls indicated the race had narrowed.
Sherrill worked to connect her opponent to Trump, telling supporters in the spring, “While Jack is for Trump, I am for New Jersey.”
Ciattarelli, meanwhile, sought to paint Sherrill as an extension of the state’s current administration, calling her “Gov. Phil Murphy 2.0.”
Sherrill will be the state’s second female governor. Republican Christine Todd Whitman, the first woman to hold the office when she took it in 1994, voiced support for Sherrill, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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