New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill is facing fresh scrutiny following the revelation that her two children were accepted into the highly competitive Naval Academy — days after her campaign was rocked by news of her involvement in a notorious cheating scandal as a cadet.
The Democratic congresswoman’s office announced in June that her two kids, Lincoln and Margaret Hedberg, were among nine students from her district to land spots in the Naval Academy, which has a slim admission rate of 9%.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former interim Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) each nominated one of the two children, The Post has learned. Members of Congress can “can have five constituents attending the Naval Academy at any time” and typically nominate 15 candidates for each vacant spot with the option of naming a principal nominee, according to the academy.
Netizens, such as the Libs of TikTok, questioned how two of her children managed to get in at the same time in light of the highly selective process.
“What are the chances?” the popular right-wing social media account wrote on X.
Sherrill insists that everything was done above board.
“In order to remove even the appearance of a conflict of interest, my children did not compete in my office’s service academy nomination process,” Sherrill said in a statement to The Post.
“Instead, they applied to the offices of the U.S. Senators from New Jersey, who also run academy nomination processes each year, and I am proud that they each earned nominations on their own.”
It is unclear if Booker or Helmy made either of Sherrill’s children their principal nominee or if the congresswoman played any role in trying to lobby on their behalf.
“This is a depraved attack,” Sherrill’s campaign communications director Sean Higgins said about questions of her children’s admission.
Higgins further ripped allies of Republican Jack Ciattarelli — who last week closed in on Sherrill’s lead for Garden State governor — for “desperately doubling down by attacking Mikie’s husband and kids.”
“It’s despicable, wrong, and underscores just how unfit Jack Ciattarelli is to be governor,” the spokesman said.
Nominations from congressional lawmakers do not guarantee admission. However, applicants need a nomination from an official source, such as a member of Congress or the president, to be eligible. There are still academic, mental, physical and other requirements that need to be met to gain admission.
Parents of other newly minted Naval Academy cadets rushed to Sherrill’s defense.
“Sherrill was at the nominations ceremony and very nice to everybody,” said one mother who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Her daughter did not get directly into the academy. She had to go through much more than other kids who got directly in. She went through NAPS [the Navy Preparatory Program].”
Sherrill, a mother of four from tony Montclair, is also an alumna of the Naval Academy. She graduated in 1994 before becoming a pilot.
Last week, her campaign for governor was rocked by a bombshell story that she didn’t walk at graduation due to the cheating scandal that engulfed her class — which she claims was because she refused to rat out fellow classmates.
Sherrill’s husband, Jason Hedberg, was also involved in an unsuccessful lawsuit aimed at blocking a probe of him and about four dozen other students related to the cheating scam, The Post exclusively reported last week.
