As she mounts an increasingly competitive campaign to become the next governor of New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., has the highest number of missed votes of any member of the House of Representatives by a significant amount.
Since the 119th Congress started on Jan. 3, Sherrill has not voted in 145 of the House’s votes, accounting for 53% of the measures brought before the chamber.
Donald Norcross, D-N.J., the next closest member, has missed 83 votes.
The absence record is remarkable, even when compared to other candidates who have sought statewide office in recent years.
Sean Higgins, Sherrill’s campaign communications director, stated that the congresswoman is dedicated to representing the state whenever possible when questioned about the record.
“Mikie Sherrill is working hard every day for New Jersey on crucial issues like the Gateway Tunnel Project, which Trump ‘terminated’ and declared ‘is going to be dead,'” Higgins said, alluding to the Trump administration’s recent suspension of billions of dollars earmarked for infrastructure projects in urban areas across the country.
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Although Sherrill’s large number of missed votes is not unheard of, it is notable as one of the few instances in recent years where a sitting member of the House has noticeably reduced participation in the chamber amid the increased scrutiny of a tough race for statewide office.
According to Matthew Green, director of graduate studies at the Catholic University of America, this suggests a surprisingly tight race in a state that has consistently voted blue in the past.
“It certainly implies that the race is close enough that Sherrill must spend as much time as possible in New Jersey, which may cause her to miss votes in Washington. Missing votes is not unusual. However, if you do it too often, your opponent may argue, ‘You aren’t doing the job you have now, so why should voters trust you with a new one?'” Green stated. “But you only campaign once. I can imagine candidates thinking, ‘I can miss a lot of votes, and it won’t hurt me when I run for office.'”
According to a FOX News poll from last week, Sherrill leads Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli by a slim margin of four points, 48%–44%, among registered voters. Her lead has decreased in recent months, as she had a seven-point advantage over her opponent just a month earlier in September.
Chris Russell, a strategist for the Ciattarelli campaign, pointed out that Sherrill’s absences have grown more frequent as the November election approaches. He noted that Sherrill missed 87% of votes in the last three months, having only participated in eight of the 63 votes during that time.
“She ran for re-election to Congress in 2024 knowing full well she had no intention of doing her job. And when she did show up, the two most consequential votes she cast were to raise taxes on working people and shut down the government,” Russell said. “That Sherrill missed nearly 90% of the votes she was supposed to cast over the last three months is disgraceful.”
Sherrill joined her Democrat colleagues last month in voting against a short-term spending package and Donald Trump’s signature tax and border security package in July.
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Only one member of the House running for a statewide election has missed as many votes as Sherrill in the years since proxy voting, which was implemented to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic, was eliminated in 2023.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who ran for the Senate in 2024, voted in only 52% of the chamber’s votes. Schiff, unlike the New Jersey legislator, had a commanding lead over his opponent, winning his election by a significant margin of 17.8%.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who also ran for Senate that year, won her election by only 0.3% but managed to participate in 99% of the chamber’s deliberations. Aside from Schiff, the other six members who ran for Senate that year had a voting participation record of 80% or higher.
Notably, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, R-Va., the only other member running for governor in 2025, chose not to seek reelection last year when she launched her campaign to become Virginia’s next governor.
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Green, the Catholic University professor, stated that there is no set rule in American politics regarding expectations for resigning from office to run for a campaign. He cited candidates who made headlines for unexpectedly resigning from their positions to pursue a different one.
“In this country, we don’t have a standard for people resigning from one office to run for another. Robert Dole, who was running against [Bill] Clinton in the 1996 presidential election, declared, ‘I’m leaving the Senate while I’m running for president,’ and that received national attention. I wouldn’t have anticipated Sherrill doing the same. But it is certainly a risk.”
Despite a gap that has narrowed in recent months, Russell, the Ciattarelli strategist, emphasized that Sherrill is still in the lead with only three weeks until Election Day on Nov. 4.
“Jack Ciattarelli lacks the courage to stand up to his boss in the White House. It’s no surprise that Jack is still trailing, even in Fox News’ polling, where he can’t break through the mid-40s, and voters are rejecting him on healthcare, costs, taxes, and utilities. How sad!”
The early voting period for the governor’s race begins on Oct. 25 and ends on Nov. 2.
