Attack ads in New Jersey governor's race link a top Democrat to Elon Musk

Yahoo

22-05-2025

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is facing new attacks on the airwaves in New Jersey's gubernatorial race, with rivals targeting campaign donations from the PAC tied to billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company.
Two new attack ads launched this week note that Sherrill's House campaign received donations from a corporate PAC for Musk's company SpaceX, underscoring how Democrats are looking to invoke Musk in attacks, not just against Republicans but also against members of their own party.
The ads come at a critical moment in the hotly contested New Jersey primary, weeks before Democrats will choose their nominee on June 10. And they also offer a preview of potential attacks to come in other Democratic contests, after years of the SpaceX PAC spreading money around Washington.
Musk, who emerged as a major GOP donor in 2024 and is now a White House adviser, has become a political boogeyman for Democrats, especially as he has worked to drastically reduce the size of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency. Though he has pulled back from his initial prominent role in the Trump administration, the move by Sherrill's opponents signal that anti-Musk sentiment remains intense within the Democratic Party.
Sherrill's House campaign was one of nearly 180 Democratic congressional campaigns to receive donations from SpaceX's corporate PAC since 2008, according to campaign finance records. The corporate PAC also donated to roughly 240 Republican congressional campaigns over that same period.
If the New Jersey race is any indication, the donations could become political liabilities for Democrats this year, and the list of recipients includes some who are in competitive Senate primaries in 2026. That list includes as Reps. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Haley Stevens of Michigan, as well as Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi, who are both running for Senate in Illinois.
Craig's campaign previously said it donated her campaign's SpaceX contributions to charity. Krishnamoorthi's campaign also donated the funds to charity before he launched his Senate run, according to his campaign.
Sherrill has done the same, donating the $24,000 her campaign had received from the SpaceX corporate PAC since 2019 to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey on March 20, according to a recent campaign finance report.
'These are false, desperate attacks from candidates who've spent millions and have failed to garner support," Sherrill campaign spokesman Sean Higgins said in a statement, later adding, "The fact is Mikie's gubernatorial campaign hasn't taken a dime from Elon Musk or his companies."
One of Sherrill's rivals in the gubernatorial primary, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, also received a $2,500 donation from Musk last year. Gottheimer campaign spokesperson Peter Opitz said in a statement to NBC News that Gottheimer 'gave away the contribution last year to help Democrats in New Jersey beat Republicans at the ballot box.'
But it's Sherrill who has faced new attacks on the airwaves over the donations, as some view her as the front-runner in the six-way primary to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
One of Sherrill's top opponents in the primary, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, launched an ad on Tuesday with the narrator highlighting the donations and saying, 'Mikie Sherrill let us down.'
And a super PAC supporting Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop launched a TV ad on Wednesday also knocking Sherrill for the campaign donations, with a narrator saying that Sherrill is 'too risky for Democrats in November.'
Another gubernatorial candidate, former state Senate president Steve Sweeney, launched a website last week titled 'Mikie Took the Money,' also highlighting the SpaceX contributions.
Sherrill has also name-checked Musk in her campaign, saying in an early TV ad that she is running for governor in part 'to stand up to Trump and Musk with all I've got.'
Higgins, the Sherrill campaign spokesperson, added: 'She's been called one of 'Musk's most vocal critics in Congress' and has introduced legislation to have Musk drug tested and investigated for conflicts of interest, and to protect the benefits New Jerseyans have earned.'
Sherrill has called on inspectors general at several federal agencies to investigate Musk's potential conflicts of interest as he oversaw DOGE, and she signed onto legislation restricting Musk and DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data.
As she fends off the Musk-related attack, Sherrill's rivals are also knocking her for stock trades, noting that she paid a fine in 2022 for being late to disclose two sales of stocks related to her husband's work. Sherrill, who doesn't own or trade individual stocks herself, having sold them in 2020, does co-sponsor a measure barring members of Congress and their immediate family members from trading individual stocks.
Higgins criticized Baraka's campaign for using a headline from Newsmax on Sherrill's stock trading, saying Sherrill's opponents have "recycled debunked, right-wing propaganda from an outlet that was fined for spreading Trump's election lies."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com