Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill was a U.S. Navy pilot. If you have been watching television, you would know this because it has become the cornerstone of her political campaign to be the next governor of New Jersey.
She’s boasting about how her brief time in the navy flying helicopters will help her fix New Jersey.
Spoiler Alert: It won’t.
That’s because while Sherrill spent a few years as a helicopter pilot, most of her time in the Navy appears to have been in administrative roles. That’s not necessarily a problem.
The real problem is Mikie Sherrill’s time in Congress has shown us exactly who she is as a political leader, and if high taxes, soaring energy prices, illegal immigration, and crime are your main concerns, then perhaps Mikie Sherrill isn’t the governor for you.
As a former Navy helicopter pilot, Mikie Sherrill often touts her aviation experience as a symbol of her leadership and problem-solving skills.
But when it comes to the real challenges facing New Jersey—sky-high energy costs, a deepening housing crisis, burdensome taxes, unchecked overdevelopment, and rising concerns about migrant-related crime—her pilot’s license offers no real solutions. In fact, her policy positions and voting record have often exacerbated these issues. Here’s why her credentials fall short on the ground.
High Energy Prices: Sherrill’s license won’t lower the utility bills that are squeezing New Jersey families.
She has consistently supported progressive energy policies, including the Phil Murphy and Biden administration’s push for offshore wind projects, which she praised as positioning New Jersey as a “nationwide – and global – leader in the renewable energy economy.”
These initiatives, aligned with Green New Deal-style mandates, have contributed to rising energy costs amid reliability concerns and delays in implementation.
Following Governor Phil Murphy’s lead, Sherrill has pledged continued investment in such programs, even as residents face skyrocketing rates—proving that no amount of aerial oversight can undo the financial turbulence her party has created.
Housing Crisis: A helicopter view might spot the overcrowding, but it won’t resolve the affordability nightmare plaguing the state. Sherrill has backed immigration policies that have strained resources, including opposing stricter border measures, which critics argue have allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to settle in New Jersey.
This influx has intensified competition for housing, turning single-family homes in rural areas into makeshift dormitories and driving up rents and prices statewide.
As a proponent of sanctuary state policies, she has remained silent on the federal-local disconnect that her Democratic colleagues have fostered. Sherrill’s own initiatives focus on building more high-density affordable housing, but without addressing the root causes she helped enable, she can’t simply fly away from the mess on the ground.
High Taxes: New Jersey already ranks as the second-highest taxed state in the nation, and Sherrill’s vision for bigger government won’t provide any relief—license or not.
She has advocated for expanded social programs, including taxpayer-funded healthcare expansions and welfare initiatives that align with progressive priorities like free services for migrants and increased oversight bodies.
While she fights for restoring the SALT deduction to ease federal tax burdens on high-income residents, she hasn’t proposed meaningful cuts to state spending or government size. Instead, her plans would likely inflate the bureaucracy further, piling more costs onto hardworking taxpayers. It’s time to ground her ambitions before taxes soar even higher this November.
Overdevelopment: From the air, New Jersey’s vanishing open spaces might look like progress, but on the ground, it’s a disaster for communities. Sherrill supports aggressive housing development, including high-density projects and low-income builds in rural areas, despite widespread resident opposition to Governor Murphy’s mandates that force towns to urbanize.
She has stayed quiet in Congress as Democratic policies reshape demographics, aiming to solidify blue strongholds by transforming the Garden State into the “California of the East Coast.” This isn’t accidental—it’s a calculated strategy that prioritizes party goals over preserving local character and quality of life. If she’s been breathing too many jet fumes, it’s clouding her judgment on what New Jerseyans truly want: balanced growth, not forced sprawl.
Migrant Crime: Helicopter patrols won’t protect New Jerseyans from the growing threats tied to unchecked illegal immigration during the Biden years, immigration she endorsed.
The state has seen increases in serious offenses, including murders, DUI crashes, domestic violence, and crimes against children, often linked to undocumented individuals.
Sherrill failed to support the Laken Riley Act—a bipartisan bill aimed at detaining and deporting criminal migrants—by missing the key House vote in January 2025.
She has opposed expanding detention centers and resisted empowering local law enforcement to collaborate with federal agents on removing convicted offenders who have violated immigration and criminal laws. With ICE reporting ongoing arrests of child predators and other serious criminals in New Jersey, her stance leaves communities vulnerable.
She doesn’t care about the victims. If she did, she would have done so when she had a chance as a congresswoman.
Sherrill needs to prioritize safety over politics, or voters will ensure she’s the one grounded come election day.