Democrat Mikie Sherrill participates in the final New Jersey gubernatorial debate with Republican Jack Ciattarelli in New Brunswick, N.J., on Oct. 8. (Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)
Her campaign also received at least $4,500 from the Teva Pharmaceuticals PAC, $1,000 from the Endo Pharmaceuticals PAC and $17,000 from Johnson & Johnson.
In total, a Fox News Digital review found at least $25,500 in donations going from companies tied to the opioid crisis to Sherrill’s campaign.
AmerisourceBergen has been accused, perhaps most notably in 2021 by Washington state’s Democratic attorney general Bob Ferguson, of profiting off billions from the opioid epidemic through the shipment of dangerous prescription painkillers with no regard for how those drugs were contributing to the deaths of citizens. AmerisourceBergen, which now goes by Cencora, and two other companies would go on to reach a settlement with Washington state for over $500 million.
In early 2022, AmerisourceBergen, whose executives were exposed for previously mocking West Virginians as "pillbillies" at the height of the opioid crisis, announced it would be agreeing to a $6.1 billion settlement that would be paid out over 18 years and would cover the "vast majority of the opioid lawsuits filed by state and local governmental entities," according to a press release.
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill, (right), and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli (left), on the stage moments at the start of their second and final debate, on Oct. 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News Digital)
"With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided [for] my family, it's a lie. I'm proud of my career," Ciattarelli responded at the debate.
It was during his 2021 campaign that Ciattarelli's connection to opioid manufacturers first surfaced. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017.
And Ciattarelli's campaign fired back the day after the debate, pledging to file a defamation lawsuit against Sherrill.
"Mikie Sherrill cracked," Ciattarelli campaign chief strategist, Russell said at the time.
"In doing so, she claimed — twice — that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ a clearly defamatory attack that shocked the moderators, press, and public alike," Russell added. "In a time where political violence and violent rhetoric are becoming all too prevalent, Mikie Sherrill baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line."
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/unearthed-donations-come-back-haunt-mikie-sherrills-defamatory-attack-gop-rival