Vote 2022: Rep. Sherrill, GOP challenger DeGroot hold neighboring rallies in Randolph

At one point, Sherrill and a Paul DeGroot rallied volunteers just about a mile from each other.

News 12 Staff

Nov 5, 2022, 10:25 PM

Updated 698 days ago

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Candidates vying for the 11th Congressional District hit the campaign trail Saturday as Election Day approaches.
In Morris, Essex and Passaic counties, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill went on the campaign trail against Republican and retired career prosecutor Paul DeGroot.
At one point, Sherrill and DeGroot rallied volunteers just about a mile from each other in Randolph in Morris County.
Sherrill was in Freedom Park to rally supporters along Sen. Cory Booker.
"The people of Morris County are going to save the nation," Sherrill said. "Is this race going to be close? You know, it's hard to say, I never take anything for granted."
"This what I know about Mikie Sherrill: This state needs her so badly," Booker said.
Sherrill said she wants to go back to Washington to bring manufacturing jobs back to the Garden State and protect a woman's right to choose.
"To have people negotiating on it with no comprehension of what it might look like, what might be involved, is very upsetting," she said.
Morris County has been a Republican bastion for a long time, but Democrats made inroads during Donald Trump's presidency.
Randolph had not elected a Democrat to its local council since Watergate and Sherrill hoped to give candidates a boost. Last year, However, Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for governor, won Morris County by 11 points in that closer-than-expected race.
Those numbers tempered enthusiasm and caused caution among Democrats.
DeGroot, who was in Brundage Park, is running with a focus on inflation and crime.
"It's time for a change, and that change comes from me," DeGroot said. "I'm a different type of Republican. And I've run on that. I was raised in a blue-collar household, with a union firefighter father. I'm not against unions, I believe in them."
Sherrill has attacked DeGroot for supporting the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. DeGroot said abortion should be decided by each state and not Congress.
"New Jersey has its law. Dobbs has its law. The Dobbs decision made it a state law. I would not vote for codifying life. I would not vote to codify choice. It is a state's decision," DeGroot said.
As a first-time candidate, DeGroot said he's enjoying campaigning.
"I'm working 'til the last day, the last minute," DeGroot added.
But Sherrill said she is not taking anything for granted.
"I think our Democrats here know how important this is," Sherrill added.
After more than a week, early voting across New Jersey came to a close.
Polls open for Election Day across the state Tuesday at 6 a.m.