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Mikie Sherrill: Veteran and Congresswoman from New Jersey

Mikie Sherrill

Rebecca Michelle “Mikie” Sherrill is a Democrat who has won a seat in the US House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 11th District. This is her first political office.

About Mikie Sherrill

Mikie was born in 1972 in Alexandra, Virginia. She grew up on the East Coast because of her father’s job and now lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband Jason, and four children.

Education and Military Career

She went to the Naval Academy and graduated in 1994. She then spent 10 years in active duty in the United States Navy. She was a Sea King helicopter pilot and flew missions throughout Europe and the Middle East. She also worked on the Battle Watch Floor in the European Theater during the Iraq invasion and served as a Flag Aide to the Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Atlantic Fleet. She also served as a Russian policy officer and worked on the implementation of our nuclear treaty obligations and oversaw the relationship between the US Navy and Russian Federation Navy.

RELATED: See all 19 veterans going to Congress for the first time in 2019

Post-Graduate Education and Civilian Career

After leaving the Navy in 2003, having worked her way to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, she earned her MS in Global History from the London School of  Economics and Political Science. Mikie then earned her JD from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2007. She worked as a Litigation Associate at Kirkland and Ellis from 2008-2011 and eventually joined the US Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. She worked as an Outreach and Re-entry Coordinator from 2012-2015 and developed programs to help prevent crime in the community. As an Assistant US Attorney under Paul Fishman from 2015-2016, she worked to keep illegal guns off the streets and keep communities safe as well as prosecuting federal cases and advising law enforcement on investigations. She also has a certificate in Arabic Language from the American University in Cairo in 2004.

Political Outlook

When it comes to serving in the US House of Representatives, Mikie is concerned about the people of New Jersey and how they will afford their homes, their kid’s college tuition, or rising health care premiums. She knows that seniors worry about the future of social security and medicare. She believes that leaders in Congress keep passing legislation that hurts New Jersey and wants to change that. She wants to bring her experiences to Washington and to bring a different kind of leadership to Congress, one that will move the country forward, listen to the people, and put their interests ahead of party.

Mikie has spent her entire life serving her country and wants to continue to do so. The issues that are important to her are jobs and the economy, healthcare, tax relief, women’s rights, education, tackling addiction and the opioid crisis, national security, preventing gun violence, social security and medicare, veterans, people before politics, and the environment.

Veterans’ Issues

When it comes to veterans, she believes that our service members deserve access to educational opportunities, employment, first-class healthcare and rehabilitation. She does not think that they should have to travel hours to reach a VA facility. She believes that Washington has fallen short on its promises to care for veterans. She is going to try to fix the VA and make sure that the 400,000 veterans in New Jersey receive the best care possible. She also wants to make sure that veterans in the community have top-notch constituent services to help navigate the federal benefits system.

Mikie Sherrill won against Republican Jay Webber, Honesty, Integrity, and Compassion candidate Robert Crook, and Libertarian, Ryan Martinez.

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About the author

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Julie Provost is a freelance writer, and blogger. She lives in Tennessee with her National Guard husband and three boys.