Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, left, shakes hands with Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill, right, before a debate on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Lawrenceville, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
And Ciattarelli is calling on Sherrill to release her records to prove why she was blocked from attending her graduation ceremony.
"What we learned today is that she was part of it in some way, shape or form. Come clean, release the records. Tell us what's in your disciplinary records. I think the people of New Jersey deserve that," Ciattarelli said Thursday night in an interview on Fox News' "Hannity."
The accusations from both sides come as the latest public opinion polls indicate a very close contest in blue-leaning New Jersey in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
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"To have a guy I'm running against who will stop at nothing to illegally obtain records, it's beyond the pale," Sherrill charged Thursday night on the campaign trail in Plainfield, New Jersey.
The controversy went viral after CBS News reported Thursday that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, released Sherrill's improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information including her social security number.
Republican Jack Ciattarelli celebrates with supporters after winning the New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nomination, on primary night, June 10, 2025, in Holmdel, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Cittarrelli campaign manager Eric Alpert charged that the "admission by Congresswoman Sherrill that she was implicated in, and punished for, her involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the history of the United States Navy is both stunning and deeply disturbing."
"For eight years, Mikie Sherrill has built her entire political brand around her time at the Naval Academy and in the Navy, all the while concealing her involvement in the scandal and her punishment. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency," he added.
Sherrill, who was never accused of cheating in the scandal, said Thursday night that "there was a test at the school that was stolen…I did not realize it was stolen. I took the test."
"Afterwards I knew what the rumor mill was," she added. "I didn't come forward with that information."
New Jersey is just one of two states, along with Virginia, that hold statewide elections for governor this November. And the contests, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed as crucial early tests of the president's popularity and agenda, and key barometers ahead of next year's midterm showdowns for the House and Senate.
Sherrill, on the campaign trail, has repeatedly linked Ciattarelli to Trump.
"As Trump has inflicted all this damage on our country, Republican politicians like Jack Ciattarelli have cheered him on every step of the way," Sherrill emphasized in a recent fundraising email to supporters.
And on Sunday, at the first debate between the gubernatorial nominees, Sherrill pointed to Ciattarelli and charged that "he’ll do whatever Trump tells him to do."
Ciattarelli, who enjoys the president's support, says Sherrill is trying to use Trump as a cudgel.
"Listen, if you get a flat tire on the way home from work today, she's going to blame it on the president. There isn't anything she doesn't blame on the president," Ciattarelli argued, as he sat earlier this week for an interview with Fox News Digital.
Ciattarelli, who is making his third straight run for governor and who came close to upsetting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, discounted talk that Trump is the dominant issue in the race.
"We've got a property tax crisis in the state. The president doesn't have anything to do with that. We've got a public safety crisis in the state. Nonviolent crime is through the roof. He doesn't have anything to do with that. We've got a public education crisis, an overdevelopment crisis. Look at your monthly electric bill. The President doesn't have anything to do with those things," Ciattarelli insisted.
And Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics, charged that the Democrats are to blame, as he works overtime trying to link Sherrill to Murphy, who's term-limited, and the Democrats who've long controlled the state legislature in Trenton.
While New Jersey has long been a blue state in presidential elections, Trump improved from a 16-point loss in the state in the 2020 election to a 6-point deficit last November.
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Sherrill, who served as a federal prosecutor before first winning election to Congress in 2018, has been shining a campaign spotlight on affordability, as inflation concerns persist.
"I am laser-focused on driving down costs for families like yours. I’m going to declare a state of emergency on day one, freezing your rate hikes. I’m going to demand transparency and accountability from our government to save you time and money," she said at the start of the first debate.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-gubernatorial-race-rocked-allegations-leaks-dirty-tricks-improper-military-records-release