New Jersey Glass Cieling Dems Working Overtime to Make Sure Only Woman in Race Loses Primary Election

Democrats are the party of equity, equality, womens’ rights and breaking glass ceilings. That is, until a woman challenges the Democrat party establishment and threatens the boys in the race.

In the crowded field of the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial race, the Democratic primary has taken a sharp turn into contentious territory. Mikie Sherrill, a U.S. Representative, former Navy helicopter pilot, and the only woman among six Democratic contenders, has emerged as a frontrunner.

Yet, rather than celebrating her as a potential trailblazer in a party that prides itself on breaking glass ceilings for women, Sherrill finds herself under fire from her male rivals—Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller.

The intensity and coordination of these attacks raise a critical question: Why are male Democratic candidates uniting against Sherrill, and what does this reveal about the party’s commitment to gender equity in leadership?

The Rise of Mikie Sherrill

Mikie Sherrill’s candidacy is compelling. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, she served nearly a decade as a helicopter pilot, later becoming a federal prosecutor and a U.S. Representative for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District since 2018. Her electoral track record is formidable: she flipped a Republican stronghold in 2018, achieving the largest partisan swing in the nation that cycle, and has since won re-election by wide margins, outperforming top Democratic tickets like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker in her district.

Polls, including a January 2025 Emerson College survey and a March 2025 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, consistently show Sherrill leading or tied for the lead in the Democratic primary, with strong favorability among women and moderates.

Her platform—focused on affordability, housing, NJ Transit reform, and reproductive rights—resonates with a broad electorate, and her endorsements from groups like EMILY’s List and the Laborers’ International Union bolster her campaign.

Sherrill’s status as the only woman in the race should, in theory, position her as a standard-bearer for a party that has championed women’s advancement. Democrats have long touted their role in electing women to high office, from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential nomination to Kamala Harris’s vice presidency. Yet, instead of rallying behind Sherrill, her male competitors have launched a series of pointed attacks, ranging from policy critiques to personal and procedural jabs, that suggest a coordinated effort to undermine her candidacy.

The Attacks: A Pattern of Aggression

The assaults on Sherrill have been multifaceted. In January 2025, Steve Fulop escalated tensions by filing a complaint with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, alleging that Sherrill improperly used congressional campaign funds to boost her gubernatorial bid.

Fulop framed this as a betrayal of voter trust, stating, “This is the exact thing that makes voters cynical about NJ politicians, and the deceit is an action synonymous with the NJ political machine.”

She is even being compared, in misogynistic fashion, to Tammy Murphy, the wife of Governor Phil Murphy, who was also lambasted by the male-dominated elite in the party to step aside in her race for U.S. Senate last year against Andy Kim.

The accusation, while serious, hinges on technicalities about campaign finance coordination, and Sherrill’s team has dismissed it as a distraction.

Critics note that Fulop, who has trailed Sherrill in polls, may be leveraging the complaint to tarnish her image as a reformer.

Ras Baraka, meanwhile, took a more personal approach. At an April 2025 event in Montclair—Sherrill’s hometown—Baraka accused her of racial insensitivity, seizing on remarks she made at a candidate forum about addressing the racial wealth gap through education, including third-grade reading skills.

Baraka called her comments “tone-deaf” and suggested they would be “considered racist” if uttered by a Republican. Sherrill responded by affirming her commitment to tackling systemic racism across education, housing, and criminal justice, but the attack lingered, amplified by Baraka’s suggestion that he might not support Sherrill in the general election if she wins the primary.

Other candidates have piled on with subtler digs. Josh Gottheimer, Sherrill’s congressional colleague, has positioned himself as a more pragmatic moderate, implicitly questioning Sherrill’s ability to appeal to swing voters.

Steve Sweeney, leveraging his South Jersey base, has criticized Sherrill’s ties to “party bosses,” despite her grassroots fundraising prowess. Sean Spiller, backed by the powerful NJEA, has echoed progressive critiques of Sherrill’s moderate voting record, particularly her support for Israel, which has drawn ire from some left-leaning voters.

Why the Unity Against Sherrill?

The convergence of attacks on Sherrill cannot be dismissed as mere political sparring in a competitive primary. Several factors suggest deeper motivations:

Electability Anxieties Post-Harris: The Democratic Party is grappling with the fallout of Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential loss, which reignited debates about women’s electability. In New Jersey, where Harris underperformed compared to Joe Biden’s 2020 margin, some party insiders are reportedly questioning whether a woman can win the governorship, especially against a potentially strong Republican like Jack Ciattarelli. A March 2025 NBC News report cited Democratic strategists and voters expressing concerns about female candidates’ viability, a sentiment Sherrill herself acknowledged: “I hear that from insiders… that’s always been kind of the case.” Her male rivals may be exploiting these doubts, consciously or not, to position themselves as safer bets in a general election.

Threat of a Frontrunner: Sherrill’s early lead in polls and fundraising makes her a formidable target. Her ability to appeal to both moderates and women—who comprise nearly 60% of the Democratic primary electorate—gives her a structural advantage. A GQR Research poll commissioned by the Principled Veterans Fund found that Sherrill’s support grows when voters learn about her biography, particularly among abortion rights advocates, a key demographic. By attacking her, her rivals aim to erode her favorability and prevent her from consolidating support before the June 10, 2025, primary.

Regional and Ideological Fractures: New Jersey’s Democratic primary is deeply regionalized, with Sherrill drawing strength from North Jersey counties like Essex, Morris, and Passaic, while Sweeney dominates South Jersey and Baraka and Fulop compete for urban and progressive voters. Sherrill’s moderate stance and party endorsements threaten to bridge these divides, making her a unifying figure who could outpace more ideologically or geographically constrained candidates. The attacks may reflect a desperate attempt to preserve regional power bases or ideological purity.

Gender Dynamics and Party Hypocrisy: The Democratic Party’s rhetoric about empowering women often clashes with its internal power dynamics. New Jersey has never elected a female governor, and the state’s political machine, dominated by male powerbrokers, has historically favored male candidates. Sherrill’s outsider status as a woman who flipped a Republican district without machine backing may unsettle entrenched interests. As Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky noted, “It’s part of the same chatter that has always kept women from ascending in the Democratic Party in New Jersey.” The attacks on Sherrill expose a gap between the party’s public commitment to gender equity and its willingness to rally behind a woman when power is at stake.

The Broader Implications

The targeting of Mikie Sherrill raises troubling questions about the Democratic Party’s priorities. If the party that claims to champion women’s leadership undermines its only female gubernatorial candidate, it risks alienating the very voters—women, moderates, and progressives—who propelled its past successes. Sherrill’s ability to outperform top Democrats in her district suggests she could broaden the party’s appeal in a state where recent elections have grown competitive, yet her rivals’ attacks threaten to fracture party unity ahead of a general election that could test Democratic dominance.

The focus on Sherrill distracts from substantive policy debates. New Jersey faces pressing challenges—high property taxes, NJ Transit’s failures, housing shortages, and racial inequities—that demand bold solutions. Sherrill’s proposals, like developing brownfields for housing and reforming NJ Transit, deserve scrutiny, but the personal and procedural attacks overshadow these discussions, leaving voters with mudslinging rather than clarity.

A Path Forward

As the June 2025 primary nears, Democratic voters must weigh whether the attacks on Sherrill reflect legitimate concerns or a reflexive resistance to a woman breaking through.

Sherrill’s rivals would do well to focus on their own visions rather than tearing down a candidate who, by all metrics, is a strong contender. The party’s leadership, meanwhile, must confront its role in perpetuating gender biases that undermine its own values.

Mikie Sherrill’s campaign is a test—not just of her resilience, but of the Democratic Party’s sincerity. If Democrats truly believe in breaking glass ceilings, they must ask why their male candidates seem so intent on keeping this one intact. In a state that prides itself on grit and progress, Sherrill’s words ring true: “In New Jersey, we don’t whine, we work.”

It’s time for her party to live up to that ethos and let the best candidate—man or woman—rise.

Or forever shut up about being the party of equality and womens’ rights.