After a Georgetown University Law Center graduate won the New Jersey gubernatorial election Nov. 4, several Georgetown students expressed optimism for her governorship and broader trends in national politics.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) (LAW ’07) was elected the next governor of New Jersey with 56.4% of the vote, making her the second female governor of the state. For many Georgetown students from New Jersey, Sherrill’s win was reassuring and provided hope for a larger shift in national politics.

Catrina Kellaghan (SFS ’28), who is from Jersey City, N.J., said Sherrill’s victory is important for combating a rightward shift in state politics and preserving New Jersey’s political environment.

“New Jersey has been a very Democratic place, at least in recent years, so it was really important just kind of preserving New Jersey in that way: as an accepting state, as a diverse state and all those things,” Kellaghan said to The Hoya.

“For a lot of people in New Jersey, a lot of Democrats in New Jersey, it’s just this rightward shift that has been happening and in the election last year with Trump, there was such a large shift to the right, which is not customary New Jersey,” Kellaghan added.

While former Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey in the 2024 presidential election, she did so by only 6 percentage points, the smallest Democratic margin for New Jersey in decades. In 2024, Trump flipped five New Jersey counties from the 2020 presidential election, all of which moved back toward Democrat in the governor’s race this year.

Taylor Moses (CAS ’27), a New Jersey voter, said before Election Day, she was worried about Sherrill’s chances due to President Donald Trump’s 2024 performance. 

“I think that after last election, which was a year ago, the overwhelming feeling of just like disappointment I felt was something that I was really scared — especially in so many intense races on the line — I was going to feel again,” Moses told The Hoya.

“It was really fun seeing the blue wave,” Moses added. “My mom texted me in the morning and said, ‘Taylor, we now have a female liberal governor,’ and we’re all jumping for joy about it. So it was an amazing thing, not only for politics, but I think just for the community.”

Otto Dierig (CAS ’28), who is also from Jersey City, said Sherrill’s election gave him a sense of relief, especially with the political makeup of New Jersey’s electorate.

“Everyone that’s in New Jersey kind of knows it can be very conservative in parts and regions,” Dierig told The Hoya. “So to have her win, and to have her win by that margin was like a huge sigh of relief for me and for a lot of my family in Jersey.” 

Kellaghan attributed Sherrill’s victory in part to President Donald Trump’s policies and their impacts on New Jersey. Kellaghan said prior misinformation, in particular, likely influenced the New Jersey electorate this year.

“And I think now seeing actually the impacts of what’s going on with the Trump administration, you know, make people wake up and realize, ‘okay, this can’t happen,’” Kellaghan said.

“But I think either way, people wanted to change — you know, last year — and now they want to change again,” Kellaghan added.

Dhruv Shah (SFS ’26), a New Jersey resident and co-chair of the Georgetown University College Democrats, said Sherrill won by prioritizing campaigning on economic issues. 

“Undoubtedly, the biggest issue in this race was affordability and Sherrill was laser focused on it, especially on the issue of energy prices,” Shah wrote to The Hoya.

Dierig said affordability was one of his main concerns as a voter, as were local issues such as the status of a turnpike extension project that began under the previous governor, Democrat Phil Murphy.

“Obviously, affordability was the main key issue, but I’m more focused on specifically housing, transit, the turnpike extension — specifically through New Jersey is a big issue that extended all the way back to Murphy’s governorship, and I think it’s something that they need to revisit,” Dierig said.

Elections across the country Nov. 4 centered on affordability, with many candidates running on economic issues across both major parties. According to a poll by the Associated Press, affordability, taxes and the economy were voters’ top priorities during the elections.

Kellaghan said Sherrill becoming New Jersey’s second female governor — after Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who served from 1994 to 2001 — is especially important following Harris’ loss in the 2024 election.

“It was pretty disheartening to a lot of women last year to see that it seemed like we were finally going to get close to having a female president, and then ultimately not,” Kellaghan said. “So I think that that was really exciting to finally see women winning again.” 

Sherrill defeated Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli among a slew of Democratic victories across the country. Democrat Abigail Spanberger will become the first female governor of Virginia, and her lieutenant governor, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, will become the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office. Zohran Mamdani also was elected the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of New York City.

Kellaghan said Sherrill’s election was part of a larger trend, including Spanberger’s and Mamdani’s elections, of voters seeking new voices and solutions.

“Even when we see Mamdani in New York City, people are just looking for something new, something fresh, young politicians, new ideas, and I think that that’s why we were kind of shifted back,” Kellaghan said.

Shah said Sherrill’s victory, which is comparable to Murphy’s 2017 win, is important for the Democratic Party’s future.

“This race wasn’t really close,” Shah wrote. “She won by around 13 points, which is right around Gov. Murphy’s win in 2017.” 

Shah added that Democratic successes like Sherrill’s can be replicated across the country. 

“In terms of what Democrats can learn from her win, I would say it’s message discipline and being laser focused on the economy,” Shah wrote. “It’s putting forward a positive vision beyond just how you want to counter Trump. And I think all of the major Democratic candidates from Sherrill to Spanberger to Mamdani did that.”