During her first moments as governor on Tuesday, Mikie Sherrill promised to ease some of New Jersey’s biggest concerns, including government accountability and the high cost of living.
Pausing during her inaugural address in Newark, Sherrill signed and held up two executive orders, saying they will staunch the runaway utility bills that New Jerseyans cite as a top aggravation
“This is just the beginning. We are going to take on the affordability crisis, and we are going to shake up the status quo,” Sherrill said.
A former congresswoman who is a newcomer to state government, Sherrill used the ceremonial speech to outline her four-year vision.
She said her administration will stand for three basic things, which she listed as: “Lowering costs. Taking care of our kids. Making government accountable to the people.”
Sherrill also cited New Jersey’s history and role in the nation’s founding as inspiration, and contrasted that with President Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership in Washington.
“You may not agree with every decision we make, but you will know why we made it,” Sherrill said during the roughly 30-minute speech at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. “You will know that all of our decisions are made putting you, the public, first,” she said.
Her points about challenges posed by Washington were clear, according to Kristoffer Shields, a historian and director of Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center on the American Governor.
“She went pretty clearly at the Trump administration,” Shields said during NJ Spotlight News’ broadcast coverage of the inauguration. “There was no holding back.”
Sherrill became New Jersey’s 57th governor earlier Tuesday upon her swearing in by state Supreme Court Justice Stuart Rabner.
Guests, bundled against temperatures in the teens, packed the brick-and-glass building for the speech, but only after filing through tight security. In the soaring atrium they were met with coffee and a drum and fife corps.
Among the attendees were New Jersey’s political and business elite, including top legislative leaders and six former governors. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger — a close friend of Sherrill’s and fellow member of the 2018 congressional “blue wave” — also attended. Both women’s election races in November were closely watched nationally for indications of discontent with Trump and hints of potential Democratic dominance in the 2026 midterms.
“I promise as your governor, if it’s keeping you up at night, it’s gonna be keeping me up at night,” — Gov. Mikie Sherrill
Tuesday’s swearing of Sherrill culminated a historic election that saw her become New Jersey’s second woman governor, after Republican Christie Whitman, and the first Democrat. Later Tuesday, Sherrill and Lieutenant Gov. Dale Caldwell were scheduled to attend a celebratory ball at the American Dream retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford.
A Virginia native, Sherill is a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy veteran.
She cruised to victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in November, fueled by simmering economic grievances and frustrations with Trump’s cost-raising tariffs and hardline immigration enforcement, among other policies, over the last year.
She wove personal and family history into her speech as she pledged to enhance the promises in the U.S. Constitution.
“The American Dream starts with opening a door,” Sherrill said, “with an understanding that, no matter who your parents are, where you are from, what religion you practice, or ethnicity you claim, the doors to opportunities in this country should be open to everyone.”
Her speech won praise from state Sen. John McKeon (D-Essex), who was an early supporter of Sherrill’s during an unusually crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary of six hopefuls.
“She is determined to lower costs and strengthen our energy future,” McKeon said.
Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) promised to work with Sherrill to accomplish shared goals, such as addressing affordability concerns.
“However, make no mistake: Senate Republicans stand ready to challenge bad policies that push New Jersey in the wrong direction and to offer better, common-sense alternatives,” Bucco said.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said he left with “very high hopes.”
“I can’t wait to get back to the office and start fulfilling those promises for our urban centers,” he said.
Newly elected Jersey City Mayor James Solomon praised Sherrill for linking her story with those of the nation and state.
“She intends to act quickly to lower prices and demand the highest standards from state government,” he said. “I appreciate that — though, of course, it’s easier said than done.”
Sherrill is confronting major challenges in the wake of two-term Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat.
Among them are escalating enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, that in recent weeks have roiled several New Jersey communities, including Morristown, where a high school student was reportedly detained during a laundromat raid. Roxbury officials are also on high alert as ICE is reportedly considering their community for a detention center site.
In Murphy’s final hours, he announced the enaction of one of three measures passed by New Jersey’s Democratic-controlled Legislature last week. The bills were intended to enhance civil protections for undocumented residents.
Immigrant advocates, who had implored Murphy to enact all three measures, said they now are pressing Sherrill.
“We cannot wait for the perfect conditions or guarantees to pass these bills,” said Nedia Morsy, executive director of Make the Road New Jersey.
Sherrill also must navigate significant fiscal challenges, including an estimated $3.6 billion cut in U.S. Medicaid, the state and federal health program for those of little means and people with disabilities.
State government in New Jersey is also operating with a wide structural budget gap. The current fiscal year budget calls for spending more than $1 billion more than the state is projected to collect in tax revenue. But Republicans have warned the problem is much worse than budget documents suggest, while state unemployment rose for most of last year, federal data shows.
Sherrill didn’t directly address either of those issues. She did, though, highlight concerns of workers and small business owners, some of whom she mentioned by name.
“In too many cases, the promises from politicians to open doors to opportunity have been empty — platitudes that don’t address the key issues keeping families up at night,” Sherrill said.
“I promise as your governor, if it’s keeping you up at night, it’s gonna be keeping me up at night,” she went on to say.
— John Mooney contributed reporting for this story.
