Mikie Sherrill: What to know about New Jersey’s next governor

Key facts

• Born: January 19, 1972; Alexandria, Virginia. • Education: B.S., U.S. Naval Academy (1994); M.Sc., London School of Economics (2003); J.D., Georgetown Law (2007). • Military service: U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, 1994–2003; rank of lieutenant. • Legal career: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey (2012–2016, including service as AUSA). • Congress: U.S. Representative, NJ-11 (2019–2025). • Governor-elect: Elected November 4, 2025; scheduled to be sworn in January 20, 2026; lieutenant governor-elect Dale Caldwell. • Family: Married to Jason Hedberg; four children; residence in Montclair. 

Rebecca Michelle Sherrill was born on January 19, 1972, in Alexandria, Virginia.

She spent much of her childhood in Northern Virginia and along the East Coast, graduating from South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, in 1990. Friends and teachers remember her as a driven student-athlete with an interest in service and aviation.

In 1990, she entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Four years later, she earned a bachelor’s degree and was commissioned as a naval officer. She trained as a helicopter pilot, qualifying on the H-3 Sea King and flying missions across Europe and the Middle East.

During nearly a decade of active duty (1994–2003), she served in roles that ranged from search-and-rescue and training flights to operational assignments on the Battle Watch Floor in the European theater during the opening of the Iraq War. She also served as flag aide to the deputy commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet—experience that exposed her to high-level decision-making and joint operations. Sherrill left active service at the rank of lieutenant. 

After hanging up her flight helmet, Sherrill completed a master’s degree at the London School of Economics and, in 2007, a law degree at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Sherrill began practicing law at a New York firm before moving into federal service in New Jersey. From 2012 to 2015, she worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey on reentry and outreach initiatives, and in 2015 and 2016 she served as an Assistant United States Attorney.

She and her husband, Jason Hedberg, had settled in Montclair, New Jersey, where they are raising four children. Hedberg, like Sherrill, is a 1994 Naval Academy graduate.

Sherrill’s leap into electoral politics came in 2017–2018, when she ran for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, an area long held by Republicans. She won in November 2018 and took office on January 3, 2019. In Congress, she joined the House Armed Services Committee, where she has served on the Tactical Air and Land Forces and the Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation subcommittees. She has also served the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

During four House terms, Sherrill cultivated a pragmatic profile: a veteran with a prosecutor’s eye, focused on infrastructure, defense communities, and pocketbook issues. In Congress, she has advocated on issues ranging from national security, health care, and transportation—issues that matter in North Jersey’s commuting corridors and defense-industry hubs. 

In late 2024, Sherrill launched her campaign for governor, positioning herself as an experienced executive-minded Democrat with cross-over appeal.

On Nov. 4, 2025, she was elected governor, making her the state’s second woman to win the office (after Christine Todd Whitman) and the first Democratic woman elected to the post.

As governor-elect, Sherrill is slated to take office on January 20, 2026, with Dale Caldwell as lieutenant governor.