Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey posted a video on X Tuesday of an advertisement where she spoke Spanish, admitting she didn’t speak it good in both the ad and the post.
Sherill leads Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli by 4% in the RealClearPolling average of polls taken from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15. In the post on X, which was also in Spanish, Sherrill claimed that despite her poor language skills, her “love” for the state’s Hispanic community was “very strong.”
“My Spanish isn’t good, but my love for the Latina community of New Jersey is very strong,” Sherill claimed in the post.
WATCH:
Mi español no es bueno, pero mi amor por la comunidad Latina de Nueva Jersey es muy fuerte. pic.twitter.com/wYXwFnCPim
— Mikie Sherrill (@MikieSherrill) October 21, 2025
“Hello, New Jersey. My Spanish is not very good, but I want to speak directly to the Latina community,” Sherill said in halting Spanish during the 34-second ad. “I’m Mikie Sherrill, candidate for governor. I was a pilot in the Navy and a federal prosecutor. And I have four children with my husband, Jason. And I know in New Jersey costs are very high. And I want to create opportunity for families in New Jersey. And I want to lower costs for everyone.”
Sherrill’s lead over Ciattarelli has slipped since her involvement in a cheating scandal at the United States Naval Academy resurfaced. While she eventually received a commission and served as a helicopter pilot, she was barred from attending her commencement.
Democrats have reportedly worried that Sherrill, who is serving her fourth term in Congress, may underperform with Hispanic voters after President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Trump carried 46% of the Hispanic vote, 40% of the Asian vote and 13% of the black vote in 2024, according to CNN’s exit poll.
Trump picked up substantial support among Hispanic voters in polling prior to the 2024 election due to issues like immigration and the economy.
Other Democrats have previously tried to pander to Hispanic voters, including an incident in July 2022, when then-first lady Jill Biden compared Hispanic voters to “breakfast tacos” during a “LatinX IncluXion Luncheon,” saying the community’s diversity included “the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.” The previous year, Mrs. Biden struggled to pronounce “Si, se puede,” which is Spanish for the Obama campaign slogan, “Yes, we can!”
During the 2020 campaign, former President Joe Biden danced on stage to the Spanish hit “Despacito.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
