MEMORANDUM
To: Interested Parties
From: Sacha Haworth
Re: Taking on Big Tech in the 2025 NJ Governor’s Race
Date: Nov. 5, 2025

New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill is a leader in the wave of Democratic candidates talking tough about Big Tech in the states. The Sherrill campaign aggressively pushed the candidate’s agenda to protect children and teens and hold Big Tech accountable. Sherrill also tied a direct link between skyrocketing electricity rates in New Jersey and Big Tech’s AI data center demands, which have left energy consumers in more than a dozen states holding the bag. Her promise to declare a State of Emergency on Day One to freeze utility rates showed she understood the urgency voters felt about rising costs driven by data center demand.

Sherrill’s strategy was notable for connecting two seemingly separate Big Tech issues, online safety and energy infrastructure, into a coherent critique of tech industry excess. Meanwhile, her opponent, MAGA Republican Jack Ciatterelli, dodged questions about kids’ online safety in the debates and doubled down on tying himself to the Trump administration with its ties to tech oligarchs.

By pointing out that “many of the leaders of tech companies enroll their own children in schools that do not use the devices and platforms they produce … because they know the damage it does to kids’ brains,” Sherrill made industry hypocrisy personal. Highlighting multiple key issues and linking them with decisions being made by unpopular CEOs allowed her to effectively position Big Tech as a common foe affecting New Jersey families and local economies.

Key moments

• Kids online safety agenda launch and promotion: Sherrill launched a detailed and comprehensive kids online safety plan in April and made it a core component of her messaging throughout the campaign. During the week leading up to the second debate, the Sherrill campaign aggressively pushed the candidate’s agenda with events and social amplification to share her message about protecting children and teens and holding Big Tech accountable. 
• First gubernatorial debate: Sherrill said in response to a question from a student concerned about young people’s wellbeing online: “There’s a mental health crisis in our state … Starting with the Kids Online Safety Act, I’m going to work to make sure kids like you do have an expectation of privacy.” She also sounded the alarm about the emerging threat AI poses to online safety: “We’ve never appropriately addressed something called Section 230, which holds providers liable, and we now are looking at AI down the road and how that’s going to bring a whole extra set of issues.” Additionally, CNN noted she also “pointed to power-hungry data centers placing surging demands on the interstate grid, an issue likely to worsen with the growing adoption of artificial intelligence.”
• Second gubernatorial debate: As the New York Times noted: “During the debate, she emphasized the negative role social media can have on students’ mental health.” Sherrill also reemphasized her plan for action, pledging: “I’m going to pass the Kids Online Safety Act as governor.”
• Philadelphia Inquirer endorsement: The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mikie Sherrill for New Jersey governor endorsement emphasized her ability to take on Big Tech: “Throughout her career, Sherrill has demonstrated a welcome willingness to take on big challenges. As New Jersey’s next governor, she will need it (to address) surging energy consumption driven by data centers …”
• Obama closing message: At her closing rally, Obama praised Sherrill’s focus on consumer protection and highlighted how Big Tech oligarchs have benefited under Trump while families struggle.

Key polling

• Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll Finds NJ Voters Say Data Centers Should Pay More
  • “Making data centers pay more for electricity is among the most popular options, with support from 68 percent of voters, including 77 percent of Democrats, and 56 percent of Republicans.”
• One in five New Jersey teens report often or sometimes experiencing bullying and harassment on social media, according to Rutgers survey data in a new report from New Jersey’s Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents. 
  • More than one in four New Jersey parents reported that their children spend more than 4 hours per day on social media. 

Read more

Sherrill Campaign Rally with Barack Obama (C-SPAN, 11/1/25)
Sherrill: “And you know what? Our kids have been through a lot. We have seen some of their milestones robbed by the pandemic, and now they are facing an onslaught of social media that could further isolate them, so i’m going to pass the kids online safety agenda because as Trump tries to steal opportunity, success, and a great future for our kids, all i can say is, not on my watch, New Jersey.” 

Obama: “As your governor, she will do the right thing. She understands that government can make a difference in people’s lives. By educating our kids for the jobs of the future, keeping our air and water clean, protecting consumers from fraud and dangerous products.”

New Jersey lawmaker proposes surcharge on data centers using a lot of electricity (WHYY, 10/23/25)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill promised to declare a state of emergency and freeze utility rates if she wins the election. Republican Jack Ciattarelli said the way to lower utility bills is for New Jersey to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and he’s vowed to issue an executive order to do that if elected governor.

Mikie Sherrill’s Big Tech plan (NowThis, 10/17/25)
“Imagine if our leaders actually did something about Big Tech’s exploitation of our brains — especially kids’ — instead of just cashing Big Tech’s checks. Rep. @mikiesherrill has a plan to help kids across the country.”