“If you work with him, it’s like giving your lunch money to a playground bully.”
I suspect Mikie Sherrill pre-rehearsed that answer delivered at Sunday night’s final Democrat gubernatorial primary debate, Save Jerseyans, and I’ll also bet her handlers thought it was a pretty good line, too. Unfortunately for Mikie (and Democrats, since she’s still a slight favorite for the nomination), that very 2020 answer may be divorced from the 2025 zeitgeist.
The results of a brand new Emerson poll dropped last week found 53% of New Jerseyans desiring a governor who will work WITH Donald Trump. Only 47% want a successor to Phil Murphy whose primary governing goal is to “stand up” to President Trump.
Did Mikie miss the memo?
Donald Trump is like a schoolyard bully demanding your lunch money.
Giving it to him on Monday won’t stop him from demanding it again on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. pic.twitter.com/C2pU5SsHVP
— Mikie Sherrill (@MikieSherrill) May 19, 2025
Or is doing what you need to do, and saying what you need to say (see above), to win a modern Democrat primary ironically disqualifying for the ensuing general election phase?
Who knows. Only she does. But I increasingly get the vibe from Mikie that she’s hopelessly in over her head. The Montclair Congresswoman someone who proposes what she’s read online but who lacks actual governing experience or, critically, the ability to evolve into such a role. Everything for her is hypothetical, and her anti-Trump commentary feels like a crutch as much as a reflection of her true convictions. It’s also somewhat jarring at a time when President Trump is relatively popular nationally and even (not below water) here in “blue” New Jersey also per Emerson.
Most Americans believe open borders are dangerously stupid.
Property taxes hit an all-time high in 2024, crossing the $10,000 average threshold for the first time.
Most New Jerseyans are about to get 17% to 20% electric bill hikes starting June 1st because Phil Murphy invested in windmills instead of gas/nuclear (the stuff that actually works).
You didn’t hear any new ideas or serious treatment where any of these issues are concerned on the Democrat debate stage.
“Democrat rule in Trenton has been a disaster, leading to skyrocketing costs, failed schools, and New Jersey families getting the short end of the stick. Just take it from the Democrats on stage tonight,” opined Republican Governors Association (RGA) Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton in the aftermath of the forum. ‘Every candidate on stage gave a compelling indictment of their fellow Democrats’ leadership, and not a one made the case for how they’d be any different. If New Jersey voters are looking for real change and get the state back on track, the message tonight was clear: look elsewhere.”
If Sherrill wins in June and ultimately November? We’d likely see a lot more of what we’re witnessing now: an obsessive focus from the state’s executive branch on what’s happening in D.C. rather than bold, desperately-needed reform-oriented change here at home. Attorney General Matt Platkin is trying to set a record for how many lawsuits he can file or co-sign against the Trump Administration yet no one in Trenton seems remotely interested in tackling the worsening and deepening affordability issues vexing New Jerseyans.
That’s if Mikie wins.
If she keeps talking like she did on Sunday night, and Emerson is correct, Democrats might be on the brink of another 2024-esque disaster born of their same 2024 error: becoming detached from the priorities of the average man to the point where they’re barely speaking the same language.
New Jerseyans may “look elsewhere” for the first time in a long time. That would be a good thing for everyone except for Mikie Sherrill’s struggling party.
