MORRISTOWN - She wasn't introduced as "governor."
She was introduced as "Our Mikie."

Yep, Mikie Sherrill's appearance Saturday at the Hops Craft Bar downtown was something of a homecoming.

It may seem hard to believe, but it's been eight years since Sherrill's political adventure began with a run for Congress in this very town and county.

"This is the heart of where we've been able to make change in New Jersey,"  she said.

Sherrill was on hand to bolster the candidacy of Democrat Chris Russo, who is running for Morris County Commissioner.

It's one candidate for one seat on the seven-member board, but for Democrats it's more than that. The party has not won a commission, or freeholder, seat since 1973.

Sherrill said a commission seat has become the "white whale" for Democrats.

They think this year may be the year - simply because everything is looking good for Dems across the board. That follows a year in which the three Democratic commission candidates lost only by about 5,000 votes.

"Getting closer and closer," is how the governor put it.

The governor spent some time looking backward.

Scanning the 100 or so people in the room, she said she knew many of them, noting that she had gone to rallies with them and spent time in their homes while campaigning for Congress.

But it was also a time to look forward.

"We probably have the worst federal government we have ever seen," she said.

No, that can not change next Tuesday. Donald Trump will still be president. But that's not the point.

The point is that a Democratic win across the nation next week will impede the president's agenda and set the stage for 2028.

And that possibility had Sherrill looking backward once again - all the way back to 2025.

She suggested that it was her rather easy win for governor last year that began the momentum Democrats are now feeling across the nation.

"We've got to keep it going," she said.

This had the governor thinking optimistic thoughts.

While the event was in CD-11, Sherrill's old district, the governor had CD-7 and CD-2 in mind. That's where Rebecca Bennett and Zack Mullock are challenging incumbents Tom Kean Jr. and Jeff Van Drew respectively.

Said an upbeat Sherrill:

"I think we can flip two seats with Rebecca and Zack."