Three significant Democratic county chairmen are signaling a possible future support of Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) for governor next year, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

The party leaders — LeRoy Jones of Essex, Kevin McCabe of Middlesex, and John Currie of Passaic — appear to have agreed in concept that Sherrill would be the most electable Democrat in a general election in a meeting on Tuesday. 

The three cited Sherrill’s ability to attract a big coalition of support based, mainly as a female voice on reproductive rights, her service as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and Annapolis graduate, and her work as a federal prosecutor. 

In 2018, Sherrill flipped a congressional seat in New Jersey’s 11th district held by a Republican for 34 years, largely by assembling the same kind of broad coalition.

Sherrill is on the ballot this year as a candidate for a fourth term in Congress, but has spent most of this year expanding her political footprint as a potential statewide candidate.  She is widely expected to join the governor’s race after November 5. 

Essex, Middlesex, and Passaic make up roughly 27% of the registered Democrats in the state. Still, with the near certainty that there will be no county organization lines in the 2025 primary — Middlesex has already agreed to an office block ballot — the likely support of major party leaders won’t blindly produce pluralities for a candidate.

Without the line, the powerful party leaders view Sherrill as a candidate who will appeal to rank-and-file primary voters in their counties.   In other words, Jones, McCabe, and Currie believe Sherrill can win their counties in a primary and win New Jersey in a general, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.  

The way party leaders are approaching endorsements in the 2025 governor’s race reflects the changing dynamics of a post-line era.  The optics of county chairmen endorsements appear to be softer than recent years to reflect the need for grassroots Democrats to weigh in.  

The pending endorsement of Jones, the current Democratic state chairman, is not surprising: he’s been championing Sherrill as a future statewide candidate for the last six years, and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr. and his chief of staff, Phil Alagia, are in the congresswoman’s inner circle.  Sherrill must still compete for votes with two Essex candidates, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, the New Jersey Education Association president.  Essex has more registered Democrats than any other county in New Jersey.

It now looks like Currie has picked sides: Sherrill and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) represent parts of Passaic County in Congress, and Currie has been an ally of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Paul Juliano. 

The big news in this coalition is McCabe, who has been aggressively courted by several contenders.  Middlesex ranks third in Democratic voter registration statewide, and there are barely any splinter factions — Edison, where Edison Mayor Steve Fulop grew up, is one — giving Sherrill a roadmap to accumulate substantial margins in a key county.

McCabe’s anticipated support of Sherrill brings speculation that Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin might run for governor to a close.  Coughlin remains a clear favorite for a record fourth term as speaker.

Sherrill already has lined up support from the Laborers’ International Union if she runs.  The Operating Engineers Local 825 said they would back Gottheimer; the Carpenters, Longshoremen, and Iron Workers are backing former Senate President Steve Sweeney and the Amalgamated Transit Union and other locals are with Fulop.

Fulop has picked up a substantial number of mayors from across the state and several union locals.  Gottheimer would have the backing of Hudson County Executive/Democratic County Chairman Craig Guy, Union City Mayor/State Sen. Brian Stack, and Democratic mayors of Bayonne, Weehawken, and West New York.  Sweeney already has endorsements from South Jersey Democratic county chairs and legislators.

“I guess a couple guys in the backroom making an endorsement in October of a candidate who is pretending  to run for Congress tells you all you need to know about her candidacy for governor,” Fulop said.