A dark money group has launched digital ads critical of Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), the Democratic nominee for governor, in her home congressional district this weekend.
The ad, which is currently running on Google and YouTube, says Sherrill has worsened the state’s affordability with various votes in Congress. The ad, for example, claims Sherrill “voted to raise taxes on social security income and small businesses” with her vote against President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. (Democrats offered myriad reasons for voting against the bill; analysis shows hundreds of thousands in New Jersey could lose Medicaid or food stamps, while many will see their tax bills drop.)
It’s unclear who created and funded the advertisement.
Legally required disclosures on the advertisement show that the group behind the spot is the Winning Team Committee, a nebulous organization established this summer. The Winning Team Committee materialized suddenly. Its website was registered last Wednesday through the domain registrar GoDaddy, and its first ads started running on the Google network late Friday.
The address listed with the Winning Team Committee belongs to Red Curve Solutions, a GOP and Trump-aligned political compliance firm based in Beverly, Massachusetts. Red Curve did not return a call for comment Monday.
Winning Team also filed as a tax-exempt corporation in Delaware in July. Harvard Business Services, a business-registration agent based in Lewes, Delaware, serves as Winning Time’s agent, according to filings. Winning Team has not filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Federal Election Commission, or the IRS. The origin of the funds used for the ad’s distribution is unclear.
The ad sticks to congressional issues in an apparent attempt to sidestep state election disclosure requirements: the 30-second spot does not mention Sherrill’s run for governor and asks viewers to call her congressional office. The ad is also mostly targeted at people living in Sherrill’s 11th congressional district, according to Google.
Even though the ad doesn’t directly mention the governor’s race, the intent is clear. The Winning Team Committee is not running attack ads against any other members of Congress, and the ad does not ask Sherrill to vote for or against a specific bill.
The group has spent about $4,000 on the ad through Google and YouTube as of Monday afternoon.
Vote-by-mail in the gubernatorial election starts later this month, and a flurry of ads and ad-based controversy has arrived alongside this final stretch.
Script: “The cost of living in North Jersey is skyrocketing. Yet Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill keeps voting to make things worse. Sherrill voted against increasing our federal property tax deductions. Sherrill voted against the Lower Energy Costs Act, raising our gas and electric bills. She voted to raise taxes on Social Security income and small businesses. It’s hard enough to make ends meet. Tell Mikie Sherrill to stop voting to make things worse.”
