Mikie is my representative. We kicked ass turning this district blue. She has been tireless in the House. We're actually disappointed she's leaving because we desperately need her in DC. But If she becomes the candidate, we will all galvanize and get behind her. There's a definite up hill battle. I'm one of the volunteer leaders with the Montclair Dems and along with NJ 11th for Change, we've worked very hard for her. She's smart and tireless and very much a solution driven politician. I'm not gonna lie, I also really like Steven Fulop, Jersey City's mayor, also very solution driven and has run a City so he has managerial experience which is important in a Governor. At the end of the day, for us in New Jersey, it's going to come down to, who can win and beat the Republican candidate, because he only lost to Phil Murphy by 3 points last time and he has statewide recognition. None of the primary candidates have statewide name recognition. So that's an issue for us. But Mikie has stood on my porch and spoken to the canvassing volunteers numerous times as my porch was the staging area for so many canvassing weekends, and she knows how to connect. I always joke with her, I'm still waiting to serve her a turkey loaf dinner. She has a lot of fans in Montclair and across her district. Glad you had her on.
I am sure Jessica Craven has many New Jersey readers. Open debate, competitive primaries, and real engagement with voters are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. I completely agree that it is important to consider who is best positioned to beat the republican candidate and after the primary we will unify to win. Listen to Sherrill and Fulop on one issue, the immigrant trust act. https://youtu.be/claQaDyo7Fk?si=4PX3vNEEy2Cc5S8P. And if you are an engaged primary voter try to get to a meet and greet with the candidates or listen to a candidate forum before you decide how you will cast your vote. Meet the candidates night Monday May 12th https://www.elec.nj.gov/pdffiles/press_releases/pr_2025/pr_04092025.pdf
I believe Sherrill is the candidate backed by the Nj demographic machine. If she is elected NJ will continue with the status quo (which isn’t bad compared to other states). But these are not normal times. We need a Governor who can push a more progressive agenda. Fulop is our man
I went into this governors race assuming I would support Sherrill, but at every single forum, Fulop has impressed me with the CONTENT; he avoids identity politics instead of leaning into them (as the other candidates repeatedly do) and he is not afraid to explain a position he knows will be controversial. His website is extremely well organized and presents ACTUAL POLICIES that he is prepared to put into action. He does not stop at “we have to run a really strong campaign” which seems to be as far as Mikie is getting—he is showing us what he believes are the best next steps to achieve the progressive goals he advocates and that his track record as Jersey City mayor attests. He is persuasive. He is experienced. He has three children. He was a marine. He is compassionate. Mikie’s strengths are better suited to the legislative branch (“I want to represent you”) Fulop is an executive, he is ready to act, and his arguments have the potential to sway independents and republicans. I agree with others on this platform that he is our guy, not Mikie.
Lisa, thank you for your tireless work. It’s awesome. I unfortunately disagree that Mikie Sherrill is even remotely qualified to be governor of NJ. And I have not been impressed with her fight in congress and I have share my thoughts with her. But, I do agree that right now we need a candidate that has run a government and I do support Steven Fulop from Jersey City for that reason. I think he is our best choice for where we are right now and what we need to secure a democratic governor.
I completely agree that she's unqualified! and has no intention of fighting the regime.
personally, though, I say Baraka or Spiller.
I hated what he did to JC. it may have been nice for the rich folks who came over from NY to move into those developments he built, but it was kinda the classic gentrifier story and I'll just say that the whole not considering what was going to happen to all the people you displace by building luxury condos or how to make sure you don't empower slumlords even more....well...Fulop may be a Progressive, but he's still a white man. And I admit I tried to get out of there fairly quickly after that because things got quite bad quite fast so maybe he rapidly realized his mistakes and is now more cognizant. That would be awesome.
But his flyers and campaign rollout and just the whole thing just kind of seemed pretty tone deaf to me: he talks about how he was working at Goldman Sachs then he went into the military because of 9/11, and while this is all well and good, he seemed to have completely overlooked the part where it's been heavily reported that many troops deployed because of 9/11 became incredibly Islamophobic and racist because of what they were exposed to and then he talks about his family's connection to the Holocaust for the proximity to persecution thing, so you have this rich Goldman Sachs white guy enlisting because of 9/11 and serving all that time there and then throw in that he's Jewish and his family heritage....and then think about what we have playing out in our country now.....he evidently never thought it might be worth making clear that he doesn't hate Muslims or any Middle East heritage or make it clear he's not anti Palestine/Palestinian supporters (like Gottheimer and Sherrill are)?
I don't know, with everything that's going on, I just feel like someone who can connect with all different kinds of people and who doesn't have this questionable hindering oversight that may still make things feel more uneasy for folks is a safer bet, Personally I think Baraka and Spiller are the most qualified who are also able to energize folks and mobilize them in November. They're both really genuine and draw you in when they speak, but with their own approaches. But they're also really great candidates who I definitely trust will fight for us and meet this moment in the way we need to see from whoever the governor is. I also just don't know that I see Fulop as being a fighter in an effective way. I'm not saying he won't be, I just haven't really seen anything that made me feel too confident he could really figure out how to deal with this regime how a governor has to (vs how a mayor is able to).
That said, I don't think Fulop is bad and I totally respect that choice. I would be able to hop on the GOTV effort for him if he won and be fine with it. I just don't think he's as genuine and I don't see him connecting with people the same way (I'm not a fan of the fact that he's stolen Baraka's talking points as if they're his own, either),
Mikie won't be able to beat the Republican challenger. Her record is too similar to the staunch right wingers that it's going to turn off far too much of the Democratic base and/or won't motivate the people who already tried telling the Dems they felt let down by the system and didn't want another person just playing to the middle but was actually a fighter and thus haven't been turning up at the polls and then she's also not going to be able to out maga the maga candidate.
So yea, I say if you're considering between those two, definitely go Fulop because Mikie has no chance. She's funded by those private health insurance companies and hospitals crushing us and the predatory real estate developers and the banks and investment firms and all that that are driving housing and rent prices soaring, plus all of those really messed up businesses with contracts from the federal government to go after vulnerable communities or even just target Americans in general. She voted against trans rights and has an aggressively anti immigration track record which definitely will not sit well with everything going on. (with this, the right will also weaponize her victory and claim that by voting for her, for someone who funded the border wall and the horrific Prevention of Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act and staying silent on everything that matters unless politically obligated and her atrocious anti Palestine track record in the state where Mahmoud Khalil was abducted from and lowering the threshold of deportable offenses and parroting MAGA talking points on immigration, by putting someone with such an aggressively anti immigrant history when this election has come to people's focus because of what happened to her opponent, particularly since the office that went after him are on her donor filings reports for this election, the right will claim that we DECIDED this, that this was a decisive stamp of support for what he's doing to immigrants. The right will weaponize her victory in the same way they claimed his victory meant he had a mandate. It doesn't matter that people were never made aware of her history beforehand and were conned into voting against their own interests. They'll make that declaration all the same. Don't forget, they're straight up holding off on moving certain legislation through in the state right now because they're waiting to see how this PRIMARY turns out. The way her victory can be weaponized by both sides of the aisle to silence or oppress...well even if you're not personally concerned about immigrants or what's happening to immigrant communities, please just understand that we don't want to risk supercharging that or even letting them use that claim to spread lies and fear throughout our state like people did after the election where they convinced people that 50% of the country wanted this/voted for his vicious agenda so people felt all isolated and alone and more terrified and gave up)
Also, considering the fact that she decided to run for re-election even though she knew she was going to run for governor and thus be away for 6.5 months when she had just made all these promises and commitments to people, got people to donate all this money to her while people were already hurting, getting people to put all this effort in to get her re-elected, just to knowingly leave a few weeks after winning? When we're at a time when we need all hands on deck if anything? I mean people already don't trust NJ politics and people have been screaming at Dems to listen, that they feel abandoned or betrayed by Dems, so come general election season time, when the rest of the state is actually made aware of this election, when people see this person who has absolutely zero online presence in congress proving to be a fighter for the whole of people or the most vulnerable people in any fashion (I don't mean just vets or white women, I mean speaking on behalf of the people that actually make up this state or for the most vulnerable communities that may not be able to add enough numbers to her voter turnout but are in fact still her constituents, even if it might mean losing some support in the polls), then they realize she already made all these promises to all these people she represents in her District to show up for THEM while knowing it was a lie....there are going to be people who will see this and lose any hope or trust they tried to have left altogether.
It also looks selfish to people because if she's trying to claim she's so great at what she does and has accomplished so much, then in this moral moment or whatever you want to call it, she should be putting civic duty above political ambitions and stay where she is. Even if a Democrat did come in to replace her, it would be while she's off the trail for almost a YEAR should she win tomorrow That person also wouldn't have the same kind of connections or rapport or anything. I mean she was in the Blue Dog Coalition specifically so that she could be working across the aisle and finding the middle with Republicans to come to an agreement that works for both sides. Well a new person isn't going to have these connections or that established voice among their peers or know how to do things the same way. Is now really the best time for someone to be figuring out the ropes? If she thinks she's this super effective legislator in Congress, why would she take that away from us? Why wouldn't she want to make sure a strong woman vet remained there and on the House Armed Services committee considering there are members of the regime we know are going after women in the military?
These are all things people with think and see and they won't be able to unsee it once they do. With that being the case, I say if your only considerations are between Fulop and Sherrill, definitely go Fulop.
I love her. As my Congresswoman. Concerned about her seat if she leaves. Not sure how her resume, as amazing as it is, prepares her for the governorship. Would happily support her for the U.S. Senate should Corey Booker become president.
Agreed a mayor’s skill set translates much better to the governorship as it’s executive experience to executive experience. Steven Fulop is so strong. He has my vote.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
Definitely , She boasts that she was elected in a red district so if she leaves that position what happens to congress? Fulop left Goldman Sachs to join the Marines after 9/11 and he is a successful mayor with administrative executive skills which Mikie lacks. She's great in Congress and but we have a great choice in Fulop. Check him out and compare the candidates.
I am an avid follower of your posts and follow through on most of your actions, but I’m disappointed that from one conversation (and for someone who’s not even from New Jersey), you chose to endorse one of the candidates. Mikey Sherrill was very unimpressive in her with Indivisible interview and did not have any seemingly concrete plans of what to do. She is excellent in Congress in her conservative district, but I do not think she is right for New Jersey. There are also allegations from some news sources that she enriched herself in Congress and failed to report stock transactions thus violating the Stock Act. She also missed a key vote on a bill that was controversial and could have hurt her chances in New Jersey. She also voted for the military bill that barred transgender children of military personnel from receiving specialized medical treatment. Unless out-of-staters have a direct connection with NJ or have followed one of the candidates closely for years, they probably shouldn’t be careful about endorsing anyone.
I hope that you'll have conversations with Ras Baraka and Steven Fulop. These 2 mayors are currently my top choices. While I like Mikey's interview and her responses here, I don't believe that she'll be strong enough against the current administration. We need a real fighter, not a centrist.
Mine too. Mikie Sherrill was very vague in her answers in the indivisible interview and did not seem to have enough knowledge of state politics with no executive experience.
We are finding that we need to consider designing and building "housing neighorhoods" not just numbers of housing units. We are desperate for internal transportation connections to our rapid transit systems within housing neighborhoods in CA.
Mikie has gotten old school GOP votes in NJ11. That’s what we need statewide. Those worried about replacing her should look at how Dems often outnumber GOP in special elections.
I have voted for Mikie early by mail. The earlier you vote, the more effort can be focused on others.
Mikie is my representative. We kicked ass turning this district blue. She has been tireless in the House. We're actually disappointed she's leaving because we desperately need her in DC. But If she becomes the candidate, we will all galvanize and get behind her. There's a definite up hill battle. I'm one of the volunteer leaders with the Montclair Dems and along with NJ 11th for Change, we've worked very hard for her. She's smart and tireless and very much a solution driven politician. I'm not gonna lie, I also really like Steven Fulop, Jersey City's mayor, also very solution driven and has run a City so he has managerial experience which is important in a Governor. At the end of the day, for us in New Jersey, it's going to come down to, who can win and beat the Republican candidate, because he only lost to Phil Murphy by 3 points last time and he has statewide recognition. None of the primary candidates have statewide name recognition. So that's an issue for us. But Mikie has stood on my porch and spoken to the canvassing volunteers numerous times as my porch was the staging area for so many canvassing weekends, and she knows how to connect. I always joke with her, I'm still waiting to serve her a turkey loaf dinner. She has a lot of fans in Montclair and across her district. Glad you had her on.
I am sure Jessica Craven has many New Jersey readers. Open debate, competitive primaries, and real engagement with voters are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. I completely agree that it is important to consider who is best positioned to beat the republican candidate and after the primary we will unify to win. Listen to Sherrill and Fulop on one issue, the immigrant trust act. https://youtu.be/claQaDyo7Fk?si=4PX3vNEEy2Cc5S8P. And if you are an engaged primary voter try to get to a meet and greet with the candidates or listen to a candidate forum before you decide how you will cast your vote. Meet the candidates night Monday May 12th https://www.elec.nj.gov/pdffiles/press_releases/pr_2025/pr_04092025.pdf
I believe Sherrill is the candidate backed by the Nj demographic machine. If she is elected NJ will continue with the status quo (which isn’t bad compared to other states). But these are not normal times. We need a Governor who can push a more progressive agenda. Fulop is our man
I went into this governors race assuming I would support Sherrill, but at every single forum, Fulop has impressed me with the CONTENT; he avoids identity politics instead of leaning into them (as the other candidates repeatedly do) and he is not afraid to explain a position he knows will be controversial. His website is extremely well organized and presents ACTUAL POLICIES that he is prepared to put into action. He does not stop at “we have to run a really strong campaign” which seems to be as far as Mikie is getting—he is showing us what he believes are the best next steps to achieve the progressive goals he advocates and that his track record as Jersey City mayor attests. He is persuasive. He is experienced. He has three children. He was a marine. He is compassionate. Mikie’s strengths are better suited to the legislative branch (“I want to represent you”) Fulop is an executive, he is ready to act, and his arguments have the potential to sway independents and republicans. I agree with others on this platform that he is our guy, not Mikie.
Lisa, thank you for your tireless work. It’s awesome. I unfortunately disagree that Mikie Sherrill is even remotely qualified to be governor of NJ. And I have not been impressed with her fight in congress and I have share my thoughts with her. But, I do agree that right now we need a candidate that has run a government and I do support Steven Fulop from Jersey City for that reason. I think he is our best choice for where we are right now and what we need to secure a democratic governor.
I completely agree that she's unqualified! and has no intention of fighting the regime.
personally, though, I say Baraka or Spiller.
I hated what he did to JC. it may have been nice for the rich folks who came over from NY to move into those developments he built, but it was kinda the classic gentrifier story and I'll just say that the whole not considering what was going to happen to all the people you displace by building luxury condos or how to make sure you don't empower slumlords even more....well...Fulop may be a Progressive, but he's still a white man. And I admit I tried to get out of there fairly quickly after that because things got quite bad quite fast so maybe he rapidly realized his mistakes and is now more cognizant. That would be awesome.
But his flyers and campaign rollout and just the whole thing just kind of seemed pretty tone deaf to me: he talks about how he was working at Goldman Sachs then he went into the military because of 9/11, and while this is all well and good, he seemed to have completely overlooked the part where it's been heavily reported that many troops deployed because of 9/11 became incredibly Islamophobic and racist because of what they were exposed to and then he talks about his family's connection to the Holocaust for the proximity to persecution thing, so you have this rich Goldman Sachs white guy enlisting because of 9/11 and serving all that time there and then throw in that he's Jewish and his family heritage....and then think about what we have playing out in our country now.....he evidently never thought it might be worth making clear that he doesn't hate Muslims or any Middle East heritage or make it clear he's not anti Palestine/Palestinian supporters (like Gottheimer and Sherrill are)?
I don't know, with everything that's going on, I just feel like someone who can connect with all different kinds of people and who doesn't have this questionable hindering oversight that may still make things feel more uneasy for folks is a safer bet, Personally I think Baraka and Spiller are the most qualified who are also able to energize folks and mobilize them in November. They're both really genuine and draw you in when they speak, but with their own approaches. But they're also really great candidates who I definitely trust will fight for us and meet this moment in the way we need to see from whoever the governor is. I also just don't know that I see Fulop as being a fighter in an effective way. I'm not saying he won't be, I just haven't really seen anything that made me feel too confident he could really figure out how to deal with this regime how a governor has to (vs how a mayor is able to).
That said, I don't think Fulop is bad and I totally respect that choice. I would be able to hop on the GOTV effort for him if he won and be fine with it. I just don't think he's as genuine and I don't see him connecting with people the same way (I'm not a fan of the fact that he's stolen Baraka's talking points as if they're his own, either),
Great information thank you!
Mikie won't be able to beat the Republican challenger. Her record is too similar to the staunch right wingers that it's going to turn off far too much of the Democratic base and/or won't motivate the people who already tried telling the Dems they felt let down by the system and didn't want another person just playing to the middle but was actually a fighter and thus haven't been turning up at the polls and then she's also not going to be able to out maga the maga candidate.
So yea, I say if you're considering between those two, definitely go Fulop because Mikie has no chance. She's funded by those private health insurance companies and hospitals crushing us and the predatory real estate developers and the banks and investment firms and all that that are driving housing and rent prices soaring, plus all of those really messed up businesses with contracts from the federal government to go after vulnerable communities or even just target Americans in general. She voted against trans rights and has an aggressively anti immigration track record which definitely will not sit well with everything going on. (with this, the right will also weaponize her victory and claim that by voting for her, for someone who funded the border wall and the horrific Prevention of Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act and staying silent on everything that matters unless politically obligated and her atrocious anti Palestine track record in the state where Mahmoud Khalil was abducted from and lowering the threshold of deportable offenses and parroting MAGA talking points on immigration, by putting someone with such an aggressively anti immigrant history when this election has come to people's focus because of what happened to her opponent, particularly since the office that went after him are on her donor filings reports for this election, the right will claim that we DECIDED this, that this was a decisive stamp of support for what he's doing to immigrants. The right will weaponize her victory in the same way they claimed his victory meant he had a mandate. It doesn't matter that people were never made aware of her history beforehand and were conned into voting against their own interests. They'll make that declaration all the same. Don't forget, they're straight up holding off on moving certain legislation through in the state right now because they're waiting to see how this PRIMARY turns out. The way her victory can be weaponized by both sides of the aisle to silence or oppress...well even if you're not personally concerned about immigrants or what's happening to immigrant communities, please just understand that we don't want to risk supercharging that or even letting them use that claim to spread lies and fear throughout our state like people did after the election where they convinced people that 50% of the country wanted this/voted for his vicious agenda so people felt all isolated and alone and more terrified and gave up)
Also, considering the fact that she decided to run for re-election even though she knew she was going to run for governor and thus be away for 6.5 months when she had just made all these promises and commitments to people, got people to donate all this money to her while people were already hurting, getting people to put all this effort in to get her re-elected, just to knowingly leave a few weeks after winning? When we're at a time when we need all hands on deck if anything? I mean people already don't trust NJ politics and people have been screaming at Dems to listen, that they feel abandoned or betrayed by Dems, so come general election season time, when the rest of the state is actually made aware of this election, when people see this person who has absolutely zero online presence in congress proving to be a fighter for the whole of people or the most vulnerable people in any fashion (I don't mean just vets or white women, I mean speaking on behalf of the people that actually make up this state or for the most vulnerable communities that may not be able to add enough numbers to her voter turnout but are in fact still her constituents, even if it might mean losing some support in the polls), then they realize she already made all these promises to all these people she represents in her District to show up for THEM while knowing it was a lie....there are going to be people who will see this and lose any hope or trust they tried to have left altogether.
It also looks selfish to people because if she's trying to claim she's so great at what she does and has accomplished so much, then in this moral moment or whatever you want to call it, she should be putting civic duty above political ambitions and stay where she is. Even if a Democrat did come in to replace her, it would be while she's off the trail for almost a YEAR should she win tomorrow That person also wouldn't have the same kind of connections or rapport or anything. I mean she was in the Blue Dog Coalition specifically so that she could be working across the aisle and finding the middle with Republicans to come to an agreement that works for both sides. Well a new person isn't going to have these connections or that established voice among their peers or know how to do things the same way. Is now really the best time for someone to be figuring out the ropes? If she thinks she's this super effective legislator in Congress, why would she take that away from us? Why wouldn't she want to make sure a strong woman vet remained there and on the House Armed Services committee considering there are members of the regime we know are going after women in the military?
These are all things people with think and see and they won't be able to unsee it once they do. With that being the case, I say if your only considerations are between Fulop and Sherrill, definitely go Fulop.
I support Steven Fulop
Ask about how much she made on the stock market dip.
watching smart, passionate, committed women have fun together is The Best Ever!!
I love her. As my Congresswoman. Concerned about her seat if she leaves. Not sure how her resume, as amazing as it is, prepares her for the governorship. Would happily support her for the U.S. Senate should Corey Booker become president.
Agreed a mayor’s skill set translates much better to the governorship as it’s executive experience to executive experience. Steven Fulop is so strong. He has my vote.
That’s where I’m leaning.
What an amazing powerhouse!
Jessica, you really should run for office. You're great!
Keep being loud!
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
So interview Ras Baraka - the true progressive candidate next?
I’d love to! Sherrill’s campaign reached out to me. If Ras does I will make it happen!
I served with Mickie on the Navy Staff in London. She is one in one thousand and will make a great Governor of NJ.
John H
So cool!
But we need her in Congress
Definitely , She boasts that she was elected in a red district so if she leaves that position what happens to congress? Fulop left Goldman Sachs to join the Marines after 9/11 and he is a successful mayor with administrative executive skills which Mikie lacks. She's great in Congress and but we have a great choice in Fulop. Check him out and compare the candidates.
I agree. Fulop was very impressive at his third meet and greet of the day and has concrete plans and ideas for New Jersey in the age of Trump.
I am an avid follower of your posts and follow through on most of your actions, but I’m disappointed that from one conversation (and for someone who’s not even from New Jersey), you chose to endorse one of the candidates. Mikey Sherrill was very unimpressive in her with Indivisible interview and did not have any seemingly concrete plans of what to do. She is excellent in Congress in her conservative district, but I do not think she is right for New Jersey. There are also allegations from some news sources that she enriched herself in Congress and failed to report stock transactions thus violating the Stock Act. She also missed a key vote on a bill that was controversial and could have hurt her chances in New Jersey. She also voted for the military bill that barred transgender children of military personnel from receiving specialized medical treatment. Unless out-of-staters have a direct connection with NJ or have followed one of the candidates closely for years, they probably shouldn’t be careful about endorsing anyone.
I hope that you'll have conversations with Ras Baraka and Steven Fulop. These 2 mayors are currently my top choices. While I like Mikey's interview and her responses here, I don't believe that she'll be strong enough against the current administration. We need a real fighter, not a centrist.
Mine too. Mikie Sherrill was very vague in her answers in the indivisible interview and did not seem to have enough knowledge of state politics with no executive experience.
We are finding that we need to consider designing and building "housing neighorhoods" not just numbers of housing units. We are desperate for internal transportation connections to our rapid transit systems within housing neighborhoods in CA.
Reston, Mikie! SLHS! I didn’t know! Gonna be rooting for you even more now.
Mikie has gotten old school GOP votes in NJ11. That’s what we need statewide. Those worried about replacing her should look at how Dems often outnumber GOP in special elections.
I have voted for Mikie early by mail. The earlier you vote, the more effort can be focused on others.
Representatives Sherrill and representative Gottheimer vote too often with republicans. Neither supports the immigrant trust act. Mikie Sherrill voted for the NDAA which threw trans kids under the bus. She is against congestion pricing which actually helps the environment. I ask you to reevaluate your position on this endorsement.. I support Fulop. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2024/09/reps-mikie-sherrill-josh-gottheimer-sometimes-vote-gop-immigration-policing-voting-rights/
BS wall street hack.