Post-Election, New Jersey's Current And Next Governors Plot Next Moves

By Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor

November 12, 2025

New Jersey’s incoming and outgoing governors met Wednesday in Trenton after Democrat Mikie Sherrill’s decisive election night win in the governor’s race, with each offering a wish list of what they hope to accomplish in their first and last days in office.

Talking to a crowd of reporters at his Statehouse office, Gov. Phil Murphy said he aims to end his second term with a ban on cellphones in schools in place, his latest round of medical debt relief carried out, and several stalled bills signed into law (such as a measure to meant to support redevelopment of office parks and shopping centers).

Gov. Phil Murphy talks to reporters at the Statehouse on Nov. 5, 2025, the day after voters picked Democrat Mikie Sherrill to succeed him. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

“There’s a collection of housing bills that I would love to see get through, particularly given how expensive housing has become in New Jersey and the supply-demand imbalance,” Murphy said.

Sherrill said she and her transition team will spend the 76 days until her Jan. 20 inauguration hiring her executive team and planning for her first priorities — declaring a state of emergency to contain crippling electricity costs, acting to protect children’s online safety, joining court challenges to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and drafting a state budget for the next fiscal year.

In keeping with her anti-Trump campaign theme, she also blasted his administration for federal funding cuts that have disproportionately impacted Democrat-led states.

“Certainly, I’m going to be working very hard to get resources, federal resources, back into New Jersey to discuss and take on the Gateway tunnel funding right away because that’s such a key issue and such a key economic driver here,” Sherrill said.

Trump has said he is canceling the Gateway project, which aims to build new rail tunnels into Manhattan. Critics of the move said it would cripple the economy.

Sherrill also listed schools as a priority, saying she would work with policymakers to address students’ sagging test scores and consolidate school districts. Some districts are so tiny that consolidating them would save taxpayers a bundle on bureaucracy and buildings, she said.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill talks with reporters in Trenton on Nov. 5, 2025, the day after she soundly defeated her Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli, in the governor’s race. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

“I think we’re going to give some resources from the state to help people move towards that, especially at the administration level and especially with towns that aren’t even running a full K-through-12 school system,” Sherrill said. “It’s not just the people, it’s the buildings that they’re housed in, which are old buildings … that’s not where citizens in New Jersey want to spend their money. They want to spend it on kids and education.”

She also talked about Trump’s immigration crackdowns, saying she’ll act to require immigration agents dressed as if “they are going to Afghanistan” to be more identifiable.

“I’m committed to making sure people here feel safe, getting to school safely, getting to church safely, going to report crime safely,” she said.

New Jersey Monitor, the Garden State’s newest news site, provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. The Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.