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Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., has the greatest number of missed votes of any lawmaker in the House of Representatives by a wide margin as she wages a tightening bid to become New Jersey’s next governor.
Sherrill has no entry in 145 of the House’s votes since the 119th Congress began on Jan. 3, accounting for 53% of the measures put to the chamber.
The second-closest member, Donald Norcross, D-N.J., has missed 83 votes.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill participates in the final New Jersey gubernatorial debate with Republican Jack Ciattarelli in New Brunswick, N.J., Oct. 8, 2025. (Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)
The record of absences stands out — even when stacked up against other candidates who have pursued statewide office in recent years.
When asked about that record, Sean Higgins, communications director for Sherrill’s campaign, said the congresswoman is working to represent the state wherever possible.
“Mikie Sherrill is out there every day fighting for New Jersey on critical issues, like the Gateway Tunnel Project, which Trump ‘terminated’ and said ‘is going to be dead,'” Higgins said, referring to the Trump administration’s recent freeze of billions of dollars allocated to infrastructure projects in urban centers across the country.
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Although Sherrill’s high number of missed votes isn’t unprecedented, it stands out as one of the only examples in recent years when a sitting member of the House has visibly dropped participation in the chamber amid the heightened scrutiny of a competitive bid for statewide office.
To Matthew Green, director of graduate studies at the Catholic University of America, it speaks to a surprisingly tight race — in a state that has solidly voted blue in years past.
“It certainly suggests that it’s a close enough race that Sherrill has to spend as much time as she can in New Jersey and…
