Mikie Sherrill

Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill (born January 19, 1972) is an American Democratic politician, a former United States Navy helicopter pilot and a former federal prosecutor. Sherrill is the Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 11th District in the U.S. House of Representatives running against Republican New Jersey Assemblyman Jay Webber. 

Sherrill was born in Alexandria, Virginia. She grew up in various locations along the east coast of the United States due to her father's job. Sherrill attended high school in Northern Virginia. In 1994, she graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis with a BS. In 2003, Sherrill received a MS in economic history from the London School of Economics. In 2004, she received a certificate in Arabic language from The American University in Cairo. In 2007, Sherrill earned a JD from Georgetown Law. Sherrill graduated from flight school in the first class of women eligible for combat. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1994, Sherrill became a U.S. Navy H3 Sea King helicopter pilot and a Russian policy officer. Sherrill flew missions throughout Europe and in the Middle East. In 2000, she was based out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.

Sherrill was a Russian policy officer when she worked at the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Navy, Europe. In 2003, Sherrill was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. Sherrill left the Navy in 2003. In 2007, Sherrill earned a law degree from Georgetown Law. In the summer of 2007, she was a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis. From 2008 to 2011, Sherrill worked as an associate in the litigation department at Kirkland & Ellis's New York City office. In 2015, she became an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, a federal prosecutor, working for the office of United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey under Paul Fishman. Sherrill worked in police community relations. She left that office in the spring of 2016. She had planned on going into the field of criminal justice reform.

On May 11, 2017, Sherrill launched her campaign for New Jersey's New Jersey's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The seat is held by 12-term Republican incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen, who in January 2018 announced he would not seek reelection in 2018. In November 2017, comedian Chelsea Handler, who is from Livingston, came to Montclair to show her support for Sherrill's campaign. Sherrill has been endorsed by the political action committee organization VoteVets.org, the pro-choice Democratic PAC EMILY's List, the editorial board of The New York Times, and the New Jersey chapter of Clean Water Action. In June 2018, Sherrill won the Democratic primary with 77% of the vote, beating Tamara Harris.

Sherrill raised US $2.8 million during the primary election, placing her among the top house fundraisers in the country. Her campaign raised $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2018, setting a record for the most raised by House candidate from New Jersey in one quarter. On June 19, 2018, The Cook Political Report considered the race "Lean Democratic" and Sabato's Crystal Ball labeled it a "Toss-up." On June 27, 2018, Monmouth University released a poll of the district showing Sherrill was supported by 40% of respondents compared to 38% supporting her opponent, Jay Webber. Sherrill is married to Jason Hedberg, a classmate and graduate of the United States Naval Academy who served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. The couple have lived in Montclair, New Jersey with their four children since 2010. Sherrill wanted to be a pilot from a young age, inspired by her grandfather who served as a pilot in World War II.