Mikie Sherrill set to become New Jersey's 1st female Democratic governor
New Jersey will soon have its first female Democratic governor.
Mikie Sherrill will be sworn into office Tuesday, succeeding Gov. Phil Murphy.
"I am so incredibly honored and excited to become the next governor"
CBS News New York's Christine Sloan caught up with the governor-elect at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford on Friday, where she met with New Jersey residents and honored veterans on Military Appreciation Day.
Sherrill, a former helicopter Navy pilot and congresswoman, said the moment is surreal.
"I certainly could not have predicted this," she said.
She continued, "I am so incredibly honored and excited to become the next governor, and I am going to constantly fight for families to drive down your costs and create opportunity here."
Sherrill looks forward to her first order of business – tackling high energy costs.
"We have been, of course, working out the plan to freeze rate hikes on day one for months now," she said. "We have it all charted out. We've met with the [Board of Public Utilities]. We've met with heads of our utility companies."
Gas bills indicate the BPU increased a distribution charge by 8% on Dec. 1, but Sherrill said, "Consumers are not going to see their rates go up."
CBS News New York reached out to the BPU but have not yet heard back.
Sherrill also said she'll stand up against the Trump administration on tariffs and immigrant rights.
"People are being targeted across this country and even in this state by the federal government, attacks on our ability to afford the cost of living," she said.
"I'm proud of a lot," Murphy says
At his last press conference, Murphy said his last few weeks in office have been bittersweet.
"When you start doing things for the last time, it really hits you," he said.
Murphy said he doesn't think he has a singular greatest accomplishment from his time as governor.
"It's not a specific thing. I'm proud of a lot," he said. "Growing the economy, fairer or shrinking inequities, responsible as a state you can trust again."
When asked about Republican criticism on nursing home deaths in the state during COVID, Murphy said, "The loss is overwhelming and tragic. It's thousands of lives, so let's all acknowledge that and the loved ones that have lived on and grieved."
"But there is a myth that is out there that, for the life of me I don't know where it came from," he continued, "which is that we willingly put people back into nursing homes that were infected, which is just not true."
Murphy said he will be leaving Sherrill a note, but did not divulge what it will say.