Additional reporting from Out In Jersey reporter Corey Saunders in Newark
In a typically blue state, it wasn’t a surprise to see a large crowd lined up outside the Essex County College gym in Newark to see Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former President Barack Obama, who flew into town to bolster Sherrill’s campaign for governor on Saturday.
Obama and a rising powerhouse in the Democratic Party, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, were part of a series of high-profile rallies and campaign stops Sherrill made throughout the state in the week prior to Tuesday’s election.
In Newark on Saturday, the 44th president greeted the crowd, “New Jersey, what’s up?” He encouraged the crowd to vote, and to encourage others to vote. “You’ve got to get all your friends and family, and that cousin who’s lying on the couch. Just go, ‘Come on,’ get him off the couch,” Obama said, chuckling at his own joke.
But while the tone started light, things quickly shifted. “Let’s face it,” he continued, “our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now. It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness, and just plain old craziness.” His callout continued, referencing President Donald Trumps’s recent post on social media, directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, to prosecute his political opponents. The crowd booed, but Obama told them not to. “They won’t hear you if you’re booing, but they’ll hear your vote.”
So many political reporters, analysts and pundits are saying Tuesday’s election will be a bellwether for the 2026 midterms, giving Americans an idea of how the country feels about the Democratic Party and the Trump administration’s policies so far. Earlier at Saturday’s rally, when U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said, “Here is the truth — all over the United States right now, people will be watching New Jersey,” he wasn’t wrong. Several polls show Sherrill and her Republican challenger, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, neck and neck. Ciattarelli has Trump’s backing. While the commander-in-chief hasn’t appeared in person with Ciattarelli, he did speak at a telerally for Ciattarelli’s campaign in late October.
At a recent debate, the moderator asked the candidates to grade the Trump administration’s performance so far. Ciattarelli gave it an “A.” Sherrill shot back with an “F,” a talking point she repeated Saturday night.
Democrats have been working to tie Ciattarelli to Trump throughout this campaign. Obama criticized the president’s executive order earlier this year, pushing for private companies to end their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and many have done just that.
“They put on a big show of deporting people and targeting transgender folks,” Obama said of the current White House. “They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and blame DEI for every problem under the sun. You got a flat tire? Must be DEI. Your wife kicked you out? DEI. Who knew? But what they haven’t done is help you. They haven’t put forward serious proposals to lower housing costs or make groceries more affordable.”
The debate over same-sex marriage came up during one of the speeches before Sherrill and Obama took the stage. Right now, LGBTQ people across the country are watching the Supreme Court. Former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is appealing a ruling that her religious beliefs did not allow her to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The justices are going to discuss whether they’ll take up the case. Davis wants the court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage on a federal level in 2015. Ciattarelli’s campaign recently saw a controversy stemming from a campaign rally, where his Muslim relations adviser called for a ban on same-sex marriage. Sherrill condemned the remarks and said that adviser should be fired. Ciattarelli shot back on social media, saying he does support the right to marry someone of the same gender.
Out in Jersey spotted multiple allies of the queer community in the crowd at Saturday’s rally. Natalie Polito turned up in rainbow-colored glasses. The law student felt she had to show up to this gym in Newark because she believes in the rule of law. She also said she’s excited to have a woman leading the state. Sherrill would be New Jersey’s second female governor.
Ian and Rachael Borgo came up to Newark from Port Norris, Cumberland County. It was a 2 ½-hour drive. But if you ask Ian, he’ll tell you, “It was worth it.” They’re Democrats, so it’s not shocking that they’d support Sherrill. But the thing that stood out for Ian? “The message that [Sherrill] has is so optimistic.”
Rachael was wearing a shirt that said, “PROUD ALLY,” with a heart made up of the colors of the rainbow flag and the Trans Pride flag. She cried when Obama came out on stage. “The only way to do good is to move forward with diversity and equal rights. So that’s why we’re here,” she said.
Obama ended his speech by saying, “If you believe change can happen, you will not just elect Mikie Sherrill your next governor, you will not just put New Jersey on a path to a brighter future, you will set a glorious example for this nation. Let’s get to work.”
Two days before Obama spoke in Newark, the Sherrill campaign made a stop in Monmouth County, where Buttigieg rallied supporters at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.
Hundreds of them waited in line in the rain before the doors opened to let them in. One of those slightly wet supporters was Michelle Hoffmann who, while waiting, talked to Out In Jersey about Ciattarelli — whom she referred to as “SHITarelli” — the American Dream that her Korean immigrant parents achieved, waning freedoms, the erosion of due process, and the nihilism she sees on the far left and the far right.
“Well, obviously everything is at stake,” said Hoffmann, who is a lesbian and who made her way to the rally from High Bridge in Hunterdon County.
She said Ciattarelli has a long history in New Jersey and voters can look at his record, including his vote as an assemblyman against same-sex marriage. His opposition weighs on her mind, but so does her worry that she could be pulled out of a car because she looks different – she’s not white, she noted.
“And that is enough, according to the Supreme Court of the United States, to pull me out of a car and detain me for God knows how long without any due process,” she continued, referring to a recent high court decision that allows ICE agents to use race as grounds for immigration stops.
“That is extremely frightening, more so than losing my rights as a gay person, just my rights and freedoms as a person, as a human, as a citizen of this country.”
Hoffman’s parents came to the U.S. 50 years ago for the American Dream, and they achieved it. “And their children, my sister and I, have a better life because of the decisions that they made,” she said.
But now Hoffmann has people telling her that she’d be better off in Korea, a statement that makes her bristle. “No, I wouldn’t. This is my country. It’s worth fighting for, and I think that’s why we’re all here because this is worth fighting for.”
Hoffmann’s sense of hope, optimism, and purpose contrasts with the nihilism she sees on both extremes of the political spectrum, “where people just want to see everything burned to the ground, which is sad.”
“You know, some people voted for Trump because they thought it would be funny. They want to see people suffer. They think it’s funny, and I’m here to say it’s not fucking funny.”
Inside the Count Basie, with the fears of many like Hoffmann’s as a backdrop, Buttigieg walked onto the stage. “Well look where we are right now,” he said.
He continued by saying all eyes are on this state right now and added that it is currently the center of the political universe.
“I’m here for a very simple reason,” Buttigieg said. “I’ve gotten to know New Jersey pretty well over the years, and I’ve gotten to know Mikie Sherill very well over the years, and I know that Mikie Sherrill is the leader that this state needs …”
As a fellow former Naval officer, Buttigieg said that Sherrill’s experience in the Navy will be an asset. She understands, he said, “that service isn’t about ego or status or money or power; it is about doing what you can for other people.”
Sherrill has a proven track record of delivering to the people of this state, he added, noting as an example the federal funds she acquired for the Hudon River tunnels “that urgently needed repair.” He said Trump says he’s going to terminate that project for no other reason than to be spiteful. And Buttigieg said Ciattarelli won’t stand up to him, saying the candidate doesn’t have “the backbone” to do it, but Sherrill does. He said she’ll stand up to anyone.
Also, he said Sherrill will lower costs and make life easier and more affordable in New Jersey.
Concluding his speech, Buttigieg urged supporters to vote and to “pester” others to do the same. If they do that, Buttigieg said, “we can’t lose.”
At a post-rally news conference, Out In Jersey asked for comment on the Ciattarelli aide’s recent call at a campaign event to end same-sex marriage and on what is at stake for the LGBTQ community in this election.
“So I’m not sure how much the secretary’s followed that,” Sherrill responded, “but I’ve obviously been very appalled by the fact that he had someone who made those antisemitic and homophobic comments, and then he led — Jack Ciatterlli — led the round of applause after that and has never said that he wants to distance himself. In fact, that was someone who he called a member of his inner circle, and I think this is something that New Jersey voters need to be aware of.”
Sherrill continued by saying the country is seeing rollbacks on protections of rights and freedoms by the Trump administration and Supreme Court, including reproductive health and abortion. She said that maybe people need to take a look at the fact that the administration and high court have threatened the protections in place for the LGBTQ community.
