Mikie Sherrill, Paul DeGroot call out 'lies' in debate for 11th Congressional District

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-Montclair, and Paul DeGroot, her Republican challenger in next month's congressional midterm election, accused each other of lying several times during an hourlong debate Sunday night hosted online by the New Jersey Globe.

"She lies about my positions because she has a record of non-production and not getting things done," said DeGroot, a retired Passaic County assistant prosecutor and Montville resident running for office for the first time. "Her policies through the leadership of [Nancy] Pelosi and [Joe] Biden are causing economic disaster."

"My opponent continues to say whatever he thinks will get him elected, even lying about things that are easily verifiable, and really has a deep cynicism about this country and the people in it," said Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor from Montclair running for a third term.

After the redistricting that followed the 2020 census, the redrawn 11th District covers these communities:

• Morris — Boonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham, Chatham Township, Denville, Dover, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Township (partial), Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens.

• Essex — Belleville, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair (partial), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, South Orange, West Caldwell.

• Passaic — Little Falls, Totowa, Wayne (partial), Woodland Park.

Moderator David Wildstein packed the hour with hot-button issues that found the candidates clashing on inflation, infrastructure, crime, the war in Ukraine and especially abortion.

Each candidate on the campaign trail has repeatedly accused the other of distorting their respective positions on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Dobbs case earlier in the year that overturned the 1970s Roe v. Wade decision establishing the federal right to abortion and instead supported the right for states to make their own abortion laws.

NJ: Are you ready for November's midterm elections? What you should know

DeGroot said Sherrill's campaign ads distorted his support of "a woman's right to choose" all along. He previously told reporters he would "be comfortable with" abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy and further exceptions for cases of rape or incest or if the mother's health is threatened.

Sherrill maintained her position that if you support the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs, you support state laws that now deny "22 million women, and counting," the right to an abortion under any circumstances.

But the Dobbs decision "has made it very clear this is a state's rights issue," DeGroot said. He also accused Sherrill of supporting abortions into the ninth month, even in cases of a "viable fetus."

Sherrill has previously called that a distortion, accusing DeGroot of seizing on provisions for abortion in "extremely rare" cases where the mother and child are at significant health risk.

"He can say he's pro-choice," Sherrill said. "He can say the sky is green. That doesn't make it true. I don't know how you square this. People in this district want to know where their member of Congress stands, and I think someone like you will do anything to get elected."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," DeGroot said, again accusing Sherrill of being a rubber stamp for Pelosi, Biden and a failed Democratic agenda that has the country "on the brink of a recession."

Energy independence ("I'm into energy dominance") was DeGroot's key to fighting inflation. He also said Sherrill failed on a campaign promise to remove the $10,000 state and local property tax (SALT) deduction cap imposed by Republicans during the Trump administration that hurts highly taxed property owners in New Jersey.

Sherrill responded by saying she twice got a SALT repeal through Congress but Republicans blocked it in the Senate. She also said she helped to increase the percentage of federal tax dollars paid by New Jersey that are returned to the state, from 22% to 48%. Much of that came in the form of funds in the federal infrastructure bill to "put shovels in the ground" on the Gateway Tunnel and Portal Bridge projects.

Sherrill also corrected DeGroot when he said she voted in 2020 in favor of Pelosi as speaker of the House. "I've never voted for Nancy Pelosi," she said, adding that she would continue to hold that position and look forward to "new leadership."

Wildstein probed DeGroot about whether he supports Donald Trump and his potential bid to return to the White House. DeGroot said he is "a pragmatic conservative" and "independent thinker" who has not received or sought an endorsement from the former president.

Election Day:NJ midterms: Kean Jr., Malinowski answer on abortion, inflation, 2020 and more

Given a chance to ask their opponent a question, DeGroot grilled Sherrill about being fined for violating the Stock Act, a lightly enforced law banning insider trading among lawmakers and requiring them to quickly disclose their trades. He asked if there should be an investigation after she was "caught twice."

Sherrill said she self-reported overlooking a stock sale as she and her husband divested of individual stocks two years ago, "over and above ethics rules."

"The was no getting caught," she said. "I paid the fine. It's all public."

Sherrill questioned DeGroot about a Fox Sports TV interview in which he accused Biden of "insulting the kingdom of Saudi Arabia" by calling out the Saudi royal family for its involvement in the beheading of Saudi dissident journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi in 2018.

DeGroot said he is not standing with the Saudis but criticized Biden for "begging" Venezuela and the Saudis "on his hands and knees" not to cut oil production.

"We should be pumping our own gas, and you are against that," DeGroot said, adding that America's lack of energy independence "gets us into these situations."

"So you would like to rescind your comment saying that we shouldn't have taken a stand [about the Khashoggi assassination]?" she asked.

"I would like to rescind Joe Biden," DeGroot said. "Joe Biden should have known from the start, and so should you, that Saudi Arabia wasn't going to do us any favors on energy independence."

The candidates have agreed to two more debates:

• Tuesday, Oct. 25: League of Women Voters Debate

• Wednesday, Oct. 26: Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ Candidate Forum

The in-person early voting period in New Jersey runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ 11th Congressional District: Mikie Sherrill, Paul DeGroot debate