Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a staunch advocate for unrestricted abortion, won New Jersey’s gubernatorial race Tuesday night, defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a contest that pro-life leaders decried as a setback for vulnerable unborn children.
With nearly all votes counted, Sherrill captured 53% of the vote to Ciattarelli’s 46%, according to projections. The victory extends Democratic control of the governor’s mansion for a third consecutive term — the first such streak for the party in New Jersey since 1961 — and positions Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, to succeed pro-abortion Gov. Phil Murphy in January.
Sherrill’s win comes amid growing alarm from pro-life advocates over the expansion of late-term abortions in the state, including a new clinic slated to open next summer in Hudson County that would kill babies in abortions up to birth.
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The Luminosa Wellness Collective, which bills itself as a provider of “reproductive justice” and “trauma-informed care,” plans to kill babies through all trimesters, making it one of the few such facilities in the nation. Critics, including leaders from New Jersey Right to Life, have condemned the clinic as a “death factory” for viable babies, arguing that such abortions inflict “cruel and painful” harm on both the unborn and their mothers.
In 2023, Sherrill voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, federal legislation aimed at ensuring medical care for infants who survive abortion attempts — a vote pro-life groups highlighted in attack ads as evidence of her extremism.
Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman endorsed by Trump, positioned himself as a moderate on abortion, supporting abortion with limits such as parental notification and opposition to public funding for late-term abortions.
As governor, Sherrill will oversee the state Department of Health, which must license abortion facilities like Luminosa. While the clinic plans to rely on private grants and donations, advocates fear her administration could steer public funds toward abortion centers, building on Murphy-era policies that eliminated most restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision.
Sherrill, 53, will become New Jersey’s second female governor when she takes office, following Republican Christine Todd Whitman.
