Democrat gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill said she would push for New Jersey classrooms to mandate LGBTQ curriculum with no parental opt-out if she were to become governor.
Sherrill made the comments during a primary debate in May, but the controversial remarks have resurfaced in the days leading up to the New Jersey gubernatorial election between Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli on November 4.
“I believe that parents have the right to oversee their children’s education,” Sherrill said. “I would push an LGBTQ education into our schools. Parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things, but this is not an area where they should be opting out, because this is an area of understanding the background of people throughout our nation.”
New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill says children should have to learn LGBT curriculum and parents should not be able to opt-out their children.
This is deranged. Sherrill wants to push gender ideology onto your kids.
Vote Jack Ciattarelli.pic.twitter.com/pUdvIRzOpe
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) October 29, 2025
Notably, Sherrill has also refused to condemn the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) for its promotion of woke drag culture inside the classroom for state public school educators. The story was first covered by The Daily Wire on Monday.
The NJEA is behind one of the top-spending political groups in the state and strongly endorsed Sherrill last month. In the days following the election, the NJEA is set to host an event to celebrate “the vibrant world of drag” for public school teachers.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to DailyWire.com/Subscribe to join now.
The event, called “Drag is not a Crime: The Past, Present, and Future of Drag,” is part of the NJEA Consortium program, an initiative to boost diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a focus on minority communities in K-12 classrooms across New Jersey.
The Ciattarelli campaign, however, told The Daily Wire that the NJEA and Sherrill don’t care about education and teachers. “Drag might not be a crime, but looking the other way while 80% of third graders in some of New Jersey’s schools can’t read at grade level should be,” a campaign strategist for Ciattarelli said.
“The NJEA and far-left politicians like Mikie Sherrill could care less about education or teachers,” the statement continued. “The NJEA’s core mission is preserving political power, pushing an extreme ‘woke’ agenda on young children, and propping up out-of-touch politicians like Mikie Sherrill who vote against parental rights.”
“When Jack Ciattarelli is Governor, parents are back in charge and the NJEA is in timeout,” the strategist added.
Ciattarelli responded to the report on X, too, posting, “I’m all about live and let live, but why are drag queens a featured event at a public school teacher’s conference and what does it have to do with educating our children?! This is Mikie Sherrill’s NJ, not mine.”
“When I’m Governor, we’re getting back to the basics in our public school curriculum, leaving all this other subject matter to the kitchen table where it belongs – where parents can decide if and when to discuss with their children,” he added. “It’s time!”
New Jersey’s @Jack4NJ reacts to our @realDailyWire story from Monday, on @MikieSherrill’s largest donor the NJEA hosting a DRAG event for teachers two days after the election.
The election is in less than a week.
Read it here: https://t.co/NtZOxgDigX pic.twitter.com/2p0oYbbEVW
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 30, 2025
The race between Sherrill and Ciattarelli has only tightened in the days leading up the election, with some polls showing a statistical tie.
Related: NJ’s Top Teacher Union, A Massive Donor To Mikie Sherrill, Set To Host Woke Drag Event For Teachers
