Sherrill Wins Gubernatorial Election After Holding Republicans Accountable for Skyrocketing Energy Costs

Washington, D.C. – Representative Mikie Sherrill has won New Jersey’s gubernatorial election. In a grueling race where electricity costs took center stage, voters rejected over $9 million in energy attacks by Republican Jack Ciattarelli, sending a clear message that Democrats should go on offense on energy costs in 2026. Lori Lodes, Executive Director of Climate Power, released the following statement: 

“Mikie Sherrill won because she took the fight straight to Trump and Republicans for driving up costs. She called out their clean energy cuts, and put forward a real plan to tackle electricity costs head-on by investing in cheaper, faster, cleaner energy. Jack Ciattarelli doubled down on the same failed Trump policies that saddled voters with higher costs, and voters saw through the lies.

“Utility costs are top of mind for voters who are opening higher and higher bills each month. The election results offer a clear lesson for 2026: lowering electricity costs by expanding clean energy is a winning message for Democrats. When voters understand why their costs are spiking, they hold Republicans accountable. From Jack Ciattarelli to Donald Trump, Republicans wanted this race to be a referendum on energy—and it was. Voters rejected their plans to gut clean energy and raise costs even higher.” 

Energy costs played a critical role in the 2025 gubernatorial elections: 

• In August 2025, Mikie Sherrill released a plan to lower utility costs, which included freezing utility rate hikes, building out clean energy generation, and holding utility companies and PJM, the state’s grid operator, accountable. 
• Sherrill spent more than $16 million putting energy affordability front and center in paid communications. That’s 25% of her total ad spend on energy costs. 

• Sherrill promised to declare a state of emergency over utility rates on “day one,” and pledged to freeze utility rate hikes. 
• On the campaign trail, Ciattarelli followed Trump’s lead by attacking clean energy and proposing to ban wind projects that would bring more energy to the grid quickly, but voters rejected his attacks on cleaner, cheaper energy.
• Sherrill pledged to hold regional grid operators accountable for stalling clean energy projects, and said she would pressure PJM to plug clean energy into the grid, who she accused of being influenced by big oil and gas interests. 
• Leading up to the election, a Fox News poll found that Sherrill led Ciattarelli by 10 points on energy costs.

• During the October Gubernatorial Debate, Sherrill said the Trump budget bill raised energy costs and that Trump “cut energy support amid a utility crisis.” Sherrill also said she would build an “energy arsenal” and scale solar and battery storage.
• Sherrill cited the electricity shortage as the cause of utility-price hikes and said clean energy sources were “ready and waiting to come online to our grid” and would bring down energy costs. 
• During an August 2025 press conference, Sherrill called out how “Trump’s tax hike bill is raising utility costs by $220 each year.” Ciattarelli claimed that Trump had “nothing to do” with rising electricity bills. 

• Republicans spent more than $9 million on ads shamefully distorting Sherrill’s energy position, but voters didn’t buy it.
• Weeks before the election, Trump spiraled on Truth Social and staking the elections in New Jersey and Virginia on energy costs.