On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, New Jersey voters will elect a new governor. South Jersey Climate News reached out to the four General Election candidates with questions about local environmental topics. For other candidate’s responses, see our election coverage.
You can learn more about each candidate in the NJ Decides 2025 Voter Guide, a project of NJ Spotlight News and the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
The following is a written response from Mikie Sherrill’s campaign to South Jersey Climate News.
Governor Murphy’s administration set ambitious goals for renewable energy, aiming for 100% clean energy by 2050. What are your energy goals?
As governor, I will put consumers first and take on anyone — from special interests to my own party — to drive utility costs down. Jack Ciattarelli, meanwhile, refuses to ever take on the MAGA establishment, and he’s fully supporting Trump’s bill that is raising costs by $240/year and the grid operator PJM’s mismanagement that is driving them up by $400/year.
My energy goals are simple: significantly lower the utility costs families are facing, reduce our carbon emissions, and make New Jersey energy independent. On Day One, I’ll aggressively expand our energy infrastructure and generation capacity by cutting through red tape to build and fast track new solar, nuclear, and battery storage projects.
Solar is the fastest power source to build, and the cheapest source of electricity nationwide. Simply put, it is the fastest way to reduce families’ utility bills. And alongside battery storage, it will make our grid more reliable and secure.
Unlike Jack, I’ll also take on the grid operator PJM, whose mismanagement has jacked up prices, and force it to quickly connect these projects to our power grid alongside neighboring governors like Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania. And I’ll fight back against Donald Trump’s tax hike bill that is raising utility costs. This new energy supply will lower electric bills, create thousands of good-paying, union jobs, protect our air, water, and open spaces, and guarantee NJ’s energy independence.
New Jersey’s plans to develop offshore wind energy have been halted by the Trump administration. If elected, would you advocate for restarting these projects? And if so, what changes would you like to see going forward?
President Trump has made it exceedingly difficult to pursue wind projects in the near future. As we move forward with our energy planning, we need improved state-level planning for projects to ensure that state permitting processes work quickly and efficiently. This will help to move projects forward at lower costs.
AI and data centers are a growing factor in energy usage. How do your energy plans prepare for these new increases in energy demand – and to who will pay for it?
Data centers have the potential to drive innovation and attract new industries and jobs in New Jersey, but they also consume large amounts of energy. We can’t expand these centers at the expense of families who are now facing dramatically higher energy costs from increased demand for energy or at the expense of our clean energy goals. I’m also very concerned by a diversion of energy away from the public grid by private companies.
That’s why I’m focused on aggressively expanding our energy infrastructure and generation capacity, which will reduce utility costs for families while allowing New Jersey to take advantage of the jobs growth from AI and data centers. The states that are able to meet the energy needs of the future are going to lead the country in economic growth and business competitiveness, and New Jersey cannot afford to fall behind. I will cut through red tape to build and fast track new solar, nuclear, and battery storage projects right away. I’ll also force the grid operator PJM to quickly connect these projects to our power grid to reduce costs immediately.
Do you see overdevelopment as an issue in the state? What are your plans to balance growth and preservation?
We can’t make New Jersey more affordable without making housing more affordable, but the average home price has risen by over 50% since 2020 and is now over half a million dollars. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation, and we must ensure that the housing strategy protects our open spaces for generations to come.
As governor, I will drive down housing costs for all families and protect New Jersey’s pristine open spaces and natural areas. I’ll expand assistance for first-time homebuyers, counter Trump’s tariffs by reducing permitting delays that raise construction costs, crack down on landlords who collude to keep rents high, expand housing options that are affordable for families – like starter homes – and ensure that the Affordable Housing Trust Fund goes to housing. As I cut through the red tape that is causing housing costs to skyrocket, I will particularly focus on reducing housing construction costs on already developed sites, like underutilized offices or strip malls and properties near transit stops, which will protect our open spaces from sprawl.
I will also focus on developing a smart and comprehensive plan for housing development that prevents sprawl and overdevelopment, which could exacerbate flooding and climate change while destroying wildlife habitats. Local officials are rightfully critical of practices where large projects are built on undeveloped land and historic, open spaces that we should be protecting.
Warehouse development, in particular, is a growing concern for some communities. How will your administration deal with this issue?
We need to bring together state leaders, the business community, and local stakeholders to develop a comprehensive land development plan that considers our economic needs at a regional level with protections for the environment and quality of life in our communities. We need to have smart planning that allows us to maintain the open spaces that make us the Garden State, while attracting and retaining our innovative workforce and businesses, revitalizing communities and growing their economies, and reimagining industrial development in port districts. I want to ensure that we are cleaning up and developing brownfields and greyfields, not gobbling up our fertile farmlands and beautiful open spaces, which risks flooding and environmental challenges for our towns and residents.
What do you see as the state’s role when it comes to electric vehicles?
New Jersey’s economic competitiveness, public health, and resilience to natural disasters rely upon a transition to a clean transportation future. But today, New Jersey faces charging infrastructure gaps, electric grid capacity shortfalls, and affordability issues that are holding back EV adoption. As governor, I will develop a comprehensive strategy to break down the barriers to New Jersey’s clean vehicle transition and make key investments to expand our charging and energy transmission infrastructure. I will also expand our support for hybrid vehicles that allow families to transition towards fully electric vehicles and help to significantly reduce overall fleet emissions.
Many communities along the Jersey Shore are experiencing issues with sea level rise and routine flooding? What are your plans for helping communities adapt?
From shore towns to inland counties, New Jersey is one of the most flood-prone states in the nation. To address these needs, we have to take action to protect our homes, businesses, and environment by strengthening infrastructure resilience, investing in flood mitigation initiatives near at-risk rivers and shorelines, and flood-proofing residential communities. But our shorelines and rivers don’t end at town or county lines. My experience in Congress has proven that we have to work collaboratively to tackle regional challenges, and I have a track record of bringing local officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the table to deliver on flood mitigation projects in New Jersey. As governor, I will bring local, state, and federal stakeholders together to create a true statewide flood mitigation and resiliency plan — and make sure we stick to it.
Some areas of New Jersey, particularly urban areas, face significant issues with air pollution. How will your administration work for cleaner air?
I am focused on bringing down utility costs and reducing carbon emissions in our communities.Central to both of these goals is a rapid expansion in new energy generation from solar, nuclear, and battery storage projects. Solar is the fastest power source to build and the cheapest nationwide, and it also will help us to clean up the air that everyone in New Jersey breathes. That’s why on Day One, I’ll aggressively expand our energy infrastructure and generation capacity by cutting through red tape to build and fast track new solar, nuclear, and battery storage projects – and force PJM to connect them to the grid. Additionally, I will invest more into our mass transit systems – like NJ TRANSIT, the PATH system, and bus rapid transit – so that we can get more cars off the road, reducing emissions and air pollution.
Clean drinking water is also an issue for some communities. What are your plans for reducing pollutants and contaminants, particularly lead, in local drinking supplies?
Every New Jerseyan deserves to have access to clean drinking water. Thats why I strongly support continuing the state’s critical work in replacing lead service lines. For years, I have fought to raise national attention to this issue and drive resources back to New Jersey for this important work. Through my leadership in the House of Representatives, I brought Congress to New Jersey to hear directly from New Jerseyans and then drove millions of dollars back to our state for service line replacement. PFAS contamination in our water is another major public health concern that impacts overburdened communities in our state and I’ve brought back millions of our tax dollars for water system upgrades. As governor, I will fight for every dollar New Jersey needs to ensure all families have clean drinking water.
New Jersey has multiple policies in place to combat food insecurity, such as the Food Desert Relief Program and Working Class Families’ Anti-Hunger Act. How do you plan to address food insecurity in New Jersey?
Increasing grocery costs are a major concern for many New Jersey families, particularly at a time when Trump and Washington Republicans, with Jack Ciattarelli’s support, are cutting nutrition assistance programs that help families put food on the table and increasing tariffs on fresh fruit and vegetables. I have a plan to address food insecurity by bringing down the cost of groceries. As governor, I will go after large corporations that take advantage of consumers and jack up food prices, as well as provide incentives for new investments by small food retailers to create more local options that will create competition, lower prices, and address food deserts. Additionally, I will protect incentives for locally grown food in the face of ongoing attacks from Trump’s Washington, like cuts to programs that help schools and food banks purchase from local farmers.
Finally, the northern part of the state often gets more political and economic attention. What plans do you have specifically for southern New Jersey?
For too long, South Jersey hasn’t received the level of state investment in transportation, economic development, and education that it deserves. That will change on Day One in my administration.
I constantly hear NJ TRANSIT called “North Jersey” TRANSIT, because it simply doesn’t provide accessible, reliable public transportation to South Jersey residents. I’m committed to changing that, because from Hoboken to Camden to Atlantic City, New Jerseyans should have access to safe, reliable, and affordable transit options that are connected to people’s jobs and housing. I’ll focus on creating Bus Rapid Transit Corridors in the region, a low-cost but highly efficient way to expand transit access and reduce congestion. I’ll also work to expedite the Glassboro-Camden Lightrail Extension project and complete it as quickly as possible, which will significantly expand transit connectivity in Camden and Gloucester Counties.
To support economic development in South Jersey, I’ll streamline and simplify the new business licensing process, and will overhaul the state permitting process to reduce costs and delays. I’ll ensure that every step of the permitting process and the agency’s progress on that step are available to businesses in one online dashboard. I’ll also adopt enforceable deadlines that agencies must meet. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Shapiro reduced business license times by 90% – and it’s been a long time since we did the same in New Jersey.
As governor, I am also focused on creating stronger pathways in South Jersey between schools — including our K-12 system, community colleges, trade schools, and traditional four-year colleges — and the workforce. I’ll work with employers and labor unions to boost the number of available Registered Apprenticeship positions, which have a proven track record of helping Working families access good-paying careers. I’ll expand partnerships between colleges in South Jersey, like Rowan and Stockton, and the business community to ensure that our higher education system is providing the workforce development and vocational-technical programs that employers need. And I’ll invest in programs in our K-12 system that introduce students to careers in the trades and connect young people to jobs in those high-demand sectors.