Sherrill defends Navy service as New Jersey governor race heats up over military records

TRENTON, N.J. — The Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey defended her Navy service amid questions raised by Republicans about a 1994 Naval Academy cheating scandal and in response to the Trump administration's release of her military records, mostly unredacted.

News reports Thursday said Sherrill did not participate in the 1994 Naval Academy graduation ceremony, though she earned her degree and was commissioned; Sherrill said she did not walk but graduated and was commissioned. She served as a helicopter pilot during nearly a decade in the Navy, a quality she has featured in campaign appearances.

Ciattarelli's campaign seized on the development to attack Sherrill and press her to release more of her disciplinary and academic records, noting a pledge she recently made to be more transparent. It remained unclear whether additional records exist or would be released, and Sherrill's campaign said she did not possess further documents.

The Navy declined to comment, and the Naval Academy did not respond to requests for comment. A National Archives letter dated Sept. 22 said the military file was released to an unauthorized requester — identified by the Archives as a former Republican candidate for office in New Jersey — in error. The director of the National Personnel Records Center apologized for the breach and said the release included unredacted information such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. It was not clear whether any materials related to Sherrill's graduation participation were among those released, and officials said an internal review had begun to determine how the breach occurred. Grace McCaffrey, acting executive of external affairs and communications with the Archives, said the technician responsible should not have released the entire record and that standard operating procedures were not followed.

By midday Friday, Sherrill's campaign had begun using the episode to raise money, calling it a smear and a weaponization of the federal government. Ciattarelli's team pressed for broader disclosure of disciplinary and academic records, arguing that transparency should extend to the candidate's entire file. The race between Sherrill and Ciattarelli is one of the few statewide contests on the ballot this year, with mail-in ballots already being returned and observers watching how the race could reflect broader national political dynamics surrounding the Trump administration and the 2024 election.