EXCLUSIVE: Mikie Sherrill Campaign Moves to Block Attack Ad in Violation of Free Speech (Interview)
The struggling Democrat gubernatorial candidate is called out and exposed in a response letter.
New Jersey voters are losing out on their First Amendment rights because Rep. Mikie Sherrill cowed a prominent media company into withdrawing campaign advertisements criticizing her support of Gov. Phil Murphy, the leader of a political action committee told Restoration News in an interview.
Sherrill, a Democrat who has represented the state’s 11th Congressional District since 2019, is running to succeed incumbent Murphy, a two-term Democrat set to leave office in January. Polls show she is in a tight race with Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a businessman and former assemblyman.
In an Oct. 21 cease and desist letter, an attorney representing Sherrill claimed radio stations affiliated with iHeartMedia were broadcasting a "fake advertisement" that used artificial intelligence to imitate Sherrill's voice—a violation of state and federal laws prohibiting the use of campaign material known to be false and misleading.
But no AI was used in the anti-Sherrill ad, says Paul Caprio, director of the independent expenditure committee behind the ad, Jersey 1st.
Caprio provided Restoration News with a YouTube clip Sherrill praising Murphy at a speech delivered at the Bloomfield Public Library: "But that's why I'm so proud to be standing here with Governor Murphy by my side."
The Jersey 1st ad "de-noised" that clip for clarity, a common practice the Sherrill campaign mistook as a fabrication by generative AI according to an email exchange between ad producer Steve McKenzie and iHeartMedia vice president David Scott.
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"We are shocked and dismayed that you removed our client's ad from the air without even sharing a copy of the cease and desist letter submitted by the Sherrill campaign," Jersey 1st's general counsel explained in a follow-up letter to Scott on Oct. 22.
We have helped hundreds of clients navigate issues like this in the past and have never seen a station pull an ad without giving the sponsor the opportunity to respond to a cease and desist letter, much less even read it. We only received a copy of the letter after multiple requests and after you pulled the ad.
Jersey 1st further warned iHeartMedia that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be contacted and apprised of the legal dispute unless iHeartMedia puts the ad back on the air.
The ad, titled "Washington Politician," has been airing on other stations not affiliated with iHeartMedia. Caprio informed Restoration News that he has another round of ads prepared to air this week that focus on Sherrill's voting record.
"This is an attempt by the Sherrill campaign to prevent the voters from New Jersey from knowing what her positions are," Caprio said. "She gave this speech in Bloomfield, her campaign knowns she gave this speech, and we took it verbatim and nothing was changed."
"Sherrill has denied millions of New Jersey voters their First Amendment right to hear the truth about her views through her misuse of the legal process," Caprio continued. "It's not surprising that someone who has spent the last seven years in the Washington DC swamp is attempting to mislead Jersey voters who on Nov. 4 will prove they know better."
Sherrill, who was born in Virginia, graduated from South Lakes High School outside Washington, D.C., and earned her bachelor's degree from the Annapolis Naval Academy in Maryland. Her campaign was rocked early this fall by allegations that she was involved in a "cheating scandal" at the academy. Sherrill was reportedly not permitted to walk with her graduating class because she declined to turn in classmates she knew had cheated on their final exam.
"Sherrill is running away from her own statements 100 miles per hour praising Murphy and talking about how proud she is of Murphy," Caprio said. "This whole matter with AI is Sherrill's last ditch, Hail Mary pass, and it comes from a candidate who knows the voters of New Jersey are catching up with the truth. If Sherrill looked in the mirror, she would put out a radio ad claiming she had seen a ghost."
In person early voting in New Jersey began on Oct. 25 for the Nov. 4 election.
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