Could New Jersey elect a Republican governor in November? It depends on how much voters are willing to ignore in favor of the “D” next to the name of current Representative Mikie Sherrill.

It was only four years ago, during the last gubernatorial election, that Jack Ciattarelli gave current Governor Phil Murphy the scare of his political life by nearly winning the race. Murphy is now term-limited out, and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill is the Democrat nominee this time around. However, Ciattarelli is back, and the polling suggests that while Mikie Sherrill has a lead, it may not be able to be trusted, as the polls completely missed how competitive Ciattarelli was in 2021. In other words, this race is far from over.

Mikie Sherrill, who has run on her military record, now has two separate scandals in regards to that same record. First, it turns out that she has been pulling a Tim Walz and advertising herself at a higher rank than she actually had. Everyone who has ever been in the military, or associated with the military, knows that this is a HUGE problem.

In more than 20 fundraising appeals during her time in Congress, Team Sherrill referred to the congresswoman as a lieutenant commander. That designation, however, is false, according to Sherrill’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty form, which clearly states she retired from the service as a lieutenant.

The misrepresentations came in the form of boilerplate language affixed to the end of emails.

“Mikie Sherrill was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Use of her military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense,” read the regular disclaimer.

Sherrill attended the United States Naval Academy and immediately signed up with the Navy after she graduated in 1994. She served there until 2003, according to her discharge form. In 2003, she was nominated to the rank of lieutenant commander, but was never confirmed, public records show.

“Promoting yourself, especially as a political candidate, to a higher rank. It’s the most egregious thing that a military officer can do when you’re running for office,” Rob Maness, who spent 32 years in the Air Force before retiring as a colonel in 2011, told the Free Beacon.

Sherrill herself has been more cautious when listing her rank, using her correct title in public statements while running for Congress. “I left the Navy as a lieutenant after spending almost 10 years as a helicopter pilot. I worked as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey. And I am the mother of four children,” she wrote in NJ.com in May 2017.

But with her own House campaign pumping out misinformation, the rank inflation spread—reaching the highest levels of government. In October 2021, then-president Joe Biden referred to Sherrill as “lieutenant commander” during public remarks in the Garden State touting his infrastructure deal.

The revelation about the inflated rank came out in May, so while it may have given her campaign some heartburn, Mikie Sherrill had seemed to weather that storm. However, she’s going to have a lot harder time with the second scandal.

New Jersey gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Mikie Sherrill was blocked from walking with her graduating class at the US Naval Academy after being caught up in a massive cheating scandal, a bombshell report revealed.

Sherrill’s name was not included on the commencement program during the May 25, 1994, ceremony, according to records obtained by the New Jersey Globe.

The congresswoman said she was barred from walking because she declined to rat out classmates who were involved in the scandal that impacted 130 midshipmen in her class.

“I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill (D-NJ) told the outlet.

She declined to authorize the release of sealed disciplinary records about her time at the academy that would’ve revealed the details of why she was not allowed to walk at graduation.

The Sherrill campaign is trying to divert some attention away from the issues this raises by pointing out that the National Archives released far more information than they should have, including the congresswoman’s Social Security number. However, this seems to be solely the fault of the National Archives (and FOIA requests have gone wrong on both sides of the aisle) and they are apologizing for this particular snafu.

The National Archives, on its end, admitted in a letter, shared by the Sherrill campaign, it “should have provided only information that is releasable to the public under the FOIA. Unfortunately, however, in responding to the request, we released the comprehensive record, including personal information such as your social security number and date of birth … We have already reached out to the requester, Nicholas De Gregorio, and asked that he not further disseminate the information that was released to him in error.”

However, the National Archives screwing up should not distract everyone from the main issue that Mikie Sherrill now has to own.

The scandal revolved around electrical engineering exam answers that some midshipmen obtained and shared with their classmates in December 1992. Two dozen of Sherrill’s classmates were expelled, and one of those involved said in 2002 that he thought more than 400 out of the 663 midshipmen who took the exam had seen copies of it in advance.

The events struck at the heart of Annapolis’s honor code, sparking congressional hearings and internal investigation; the resignation of Rear Adm. Thomas C. Lynch, the superintendent at Annapolis; and widespread debate over whether the institution had been too lenient in past cases of misconduct. The academy subsequently undertook significant reforms to strengthen its academic integrity system and restore public trust.

There was no interruption in Sherrill’s military service as a result of the scandal: she was assigned to Annapolis for 254 days after graduation as she awaited a spot to open up for her at the Navy flight school in Pensacola, Florida.

Ciattarelli’s campaign manager, Eric Arpert, stated that Sherrill’s admission of disciplinary action raises questions about her entire life story.

“Today’s admission by Congresswoman Sherrill that she was implicated in, and punished for, her involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the history of the United States Navy is both stunning and deeply disturbing,” Arpert stated. “For eight years, Mikie Sherrill has built her entire political brand around her time at the Naval Academy and in the Navy, all the while concealing her involvement in the scandal and her punishment. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency.”

Mikie Sherrill was disciplined for a reason, and breaking the honor code by NOT turning in those who were cheating is a very big deal. Does that mean she personally cheated? No. But that act of omission resulted in a black mark on her time at Annapolis, and since she has run consistently on her military record, it has to be taken into consideration.

And even if people are willing to say “that was a long time ago,” the misrepresentation of her rank, and the increasing of her net worth while in Congress are much more recent issues that should be presented to voters.
https://twitter.com/wakeupnj/status/1971153573598855452
New Jersey has had recent Republican governors, so electing another one would not be a complete shock – but it would be a real upset, especially with New York City likely to go full communist with Zohran Mamdani next door. The election is just over a month away. Will people care about Mikie Sherrill being disciplined as a Naval Academy graduate, and see it as a larger issue? We’ll find out on November 4th.

Featured image: Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, official Congressional portrait, cropped, public domain