Mikie Sherrill sat in what in a few months will become her office for a meeting Wednesday morning with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

Sherrill, fresh off a decisive win over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in Tuesday's election, was in Trenton to announce her transition team. Chair Lt. Governor-elect Dale Caldwell and executive director Kellie Doucette will help lay out the transition from Democratic congresswoman to the top seat in the Garden State.

"Thrilled for Mikie Sherrill and (Lt. Governor-elect) Dale Caldwell, a huge, historic victory," Murphy said as more than a dozen reporters crowded into the room for the photo-op.

Sherrill on Wednesday told reporters she felt her message throughout the campaign resonated with voters and that the results give her a mandate to carry out her plans.

"People I hear from want great schools. They see that, as do I, as the opportunity their kids need to succeed. They want good job opportunities to get ahead, want to be able to afford a home to start to build generational wealth," Sherrill said. "And how they're going to be successful. And then taking on some of what we're seeing from Washington because it's driving up prices everywhere, putting people out of business, stopping the economic growth of our economy. So when I say I have a mandate, that's what I have a mandate to do."

As of Wednesday, with 95% of the vote counted, Sherrill held a 13-point advantage over Ciattarelli. She was on pace to flip four counties (Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester and Morris) that Ciattarelli won by double digits in his 2021 race against Murphy.

Kristoffer Shields, the director for the Eagleton Center on the American Governor at Rutgers University, said polls had given Sherrill an edge, and that he wasn't surprised by her victory. But the margin of the win did come as a shock and made a statement.

"I think that the breadth of that victory, I think the margin, I think it's eye-opening. And I think both Republicans and Democrats are looking at that this morning and this afternoon and saying this was pretty significant last night," Shields said.

Shields says analysts may have "underestimated" Sherrill's campaign, dating all the way back to the Democratic primary, which Sherrill carried by 34% of the vote. He credited the U.S. representative for energizing Democrats following a down 2024 election and believes she had the winning message on the race's most crucial issue: affordability.

"I think what she was able to do was sort of link the affordability issues that we've been talking about — taxes, affordable housing — that entire package of issues, she was able to link it to the Trump issue as well," Shields said.

President Trump and the White House's actions almost certainly played a role in Tuesday's race, according to Shields. And the races in New Jersey and elsewhere Tuesday night could provide a glimpse at how Americans are feeling about the nation ahead of next year's midterm elections.

"I think it is meaningful at the very least as we move into the midterm year," Shields said.

Shields noted it was a banner night for Democrats nationwide. In addition to Sherrill's win in New Jersey, Democrats flipped the Virginia governor's seat with Abigail Spanberger's win. Zohran Mamdani will also be New York City's next mayor.

While Shields says the three candidates are different (Sherrill and Spanberger are more centrist, while Mamdani is a democratic socialist), he says they all hammered home the same three issues: the economy, affordability and Mr. Trump.

He says it's something Republicans will have to consider.

"I think it's something Republicans are going to have to look at and say, 'OK, so how do we respond to this? What're the lessons we're going to take from it?'"

But that message also came with a warning. Shields said the midterms are still a year away, and a lot can change in that time.

"A year's a long time," he said.

Sherrill, though, was more focused on the more immediate future, and the 77 days her team now has to prepare her to take over in Trenton. The governor-elect on Wednesday gave a glimpse at what her first 100 days in office may look like.

"I'm going to declare a state of emergency on day one and freeze utility costs. And then really we'll get right to work on the Kids Online Safety agenda," Sherrill said. "Join the tariff lawsuit …  And then get to work on the state budget."

Sherrill is slated to be sworn-in to office on Jan. 20.