Finding Common Ground: Sherrill Ranked ‘Most Bipartisan NJ Official’

NEW JERSEY — A nonprofit has ranked U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill as the “most bipartisan elected official in New Jersey.”

The latest score from the nonpartisan Common Ground Committee – which aims to heal the “national challenges of polarization and incivility” – places Sherrill in the top five percent of all elected officials, including U.S. House members, U.S. senators and governors.

Sherrill, a Democrat from the state’s 11th district, represents several towns in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties (see list below). She is up for re-election in 2024.

According to the Common Ground Committee website, Sherrill scored a 76 rating on a scale of 0-100. The score of the average House member was 27.

View Sherrill’s full scorecard and learn about the group’s methodology here.

The congresswoman said it’s possible to find common ground with a political opponent – while also standing fast for your own side.

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“I’m always committed to working across the aisle to find common ground and govern, and I won’t back down from a tough fight for our values,” Sherrill said.

“I’ll continue working hard to make progress on the issues that matter to New Jersey families — like creating good-paying jobs through infrastructure investments, bringing down the cost of child care, repealing the SALT deduction cap, and protecting women’s reproductive freedoms.”

Before Sherrill was first elected in 2018, the 11th district was represented for decades by Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican who chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Frelinghuysen retired that year prior to the election.

Some GOP officials and political challengers have been pushing to recapture the district since Sherrill took office, criticizing her politics and legislative record.

“Mikie isn’t just some fun-loving liberal with a big heart who is generous with other people’s money; she is the Biden/Pelosi ever-faithful vote in Congress,” Sherrill's former challenger Paul DeGroot said during the 2022 election campaign.

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Sherrill has occasionally fired back at her far-right foes in the Republican Party, especially around issues such as abortion and national spending.

• See Related: Rep. Mikie Sherrill Blasts 'Right-Wing' Supreme Court Abortion Ruling
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But is isn't the absence of conflict that defines the term "bipartisan," some say – it's how you move forward after the dispute.

Bruce Bond, CEO and co-founder of the Common Ground Committee, said that congress members can work together to find areas of agreement for the good of the country, regardless of their political beliefs.

“We also believe that sticking to your principles and working to find common ground with your political opponents aren’t mutually exclusive concepts – you can do both,” Bond said. “Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill understands that you can disagree without anger or rancor over a given issue, and I hope that more elected officials will follow Mikie’s lead.”

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The 11th District includes the following municipalities:

• Essex – Belleville, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair (part), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, South Orange, West Caldwell
• Morris – Boonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham, Chatham Township, Denville, Dover, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Twp (part), Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens
• Passaic – Little Falls, Totowa, Wayne (part), Woodland Park

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