Trenton, New Jersey – Governor-elect of New Jersey Mickey Sherrill She said Wednesday she believes she has a mandate to fulfill her campaign promises to make the state more accessible, and the Democrat is backing off her criticism of Republican President Donald Trump for now.
Her comments came during the formation of her administration and as Democrats celebrated the victories In Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia New York City.
Sherrill met with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., at his state office, where they discussed the transition.
Asked if her wide victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli meant she had a mandate, the congresswoman said: “Yes, I have a big mandate.”
It did not directly address the extent of the dominance of the centrist movement in a country that had been shifting to the right in recent years with the election of the democratic socialist Zahran Mamdani, who strongly appealed to the government. The progressive wing of the Democrats As mayor of New York.
Cheryl stuck to her core campaign message: “The reason I focused so heavily on affordability issues is because my communities are focused on affordability issues and how they are going to be successful.”
She promised to use an executive order to freeze monthly electricity bills and said she wants to expand a program for first-time homebuyers.
A major part of her campaign speech focused on Trump’s definitionsShe described them as a “global extortion racket” and described him as the main figure in the race.
Sherrill said she has not spoken with Trump yet but is “absolutely” willing to work on getting federal money into the state. Especially in the railway tunnel project Connecting the state to Manhattan. The Trump administration has frozen funds allocated to it amid the government shutdown.
In defeating Ciattarelli, Sherrill flipped districts that went Republican during last year’s presidential election and in previous races for governor.
She performed strongly among nonwhite voters, winning about 7 in 10 in that group, according to AP Voter Polla comprehensive poll of more than 4,000 voters in New Jersey. That’s a promising sign for Democrats, who have been trying to win back nonwhite voters after Trump made gains with the group in 2024. Sherrill also won about half of the state’s white voters, who make up 7 in 10 voters.
About 9 in 10 black voters supported Sherrill, as did about 8 in 10 Asian voters. Hispanic voters were more divided, but about two-thirds supported Sherrill. Only about 3 in 10 Hispanics voted for Ciattarelli.
Trump made inroads with black and Latino communities last year, especially in New Jersey, where he narrowed the Democratic victory to just 6 percentage points from 16 points in 2020.
The poll also shed some light on economic messages.
Sherrill won over about 7 in 10 voters who said their family finances were “lagging behind.” This segment represents about a quarter of voters, according to the poll.
“What I saw was that our message resonated,” she said.
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Associated Press writer Lynley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.