Mikie Sherrill is now playing offense.

Her campaign just fired off a broadside attack against Steve Fulop, who in a recent poll, was in second place, five points behind Sherrill.

Here is how it began:

"Poor Steven Fulop. For more than two years, he’s run a campaign desperately trying to rebrand himself as a reformer, spending millions and barely making headway. Now, it’s all starting to unravel and his long history of corruption is catching up with him. During these last two weeks, Jersey voters are getting a peek behind the curtain at the real Steven Fulop - a model of the very corruption and secrecy he insists he’s against. From his pay-to-play operation that is fueling his dark money super PAC and selling out Jersey City to the highest bidder, to stonewalling Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests to city hall, Steven’s on nobody's side but his own - and his special interest donors."

The Sherrill campaign made its point by putting together various news reports.

This was a wide-ranging condemnation.

It accused the Jersey City mayor of cozying up to developers for campaign cash, stonewalling the release of public records, associating with Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, who is under indictment, and even trying to "muzzle" the press at a recent City Hall event.

Fulop did not respond to Sherrill's points individually. But in a statement to InsiderNJ, he said:

"With five other people running for governor, the fact that she is going negative on me just means Sherrill and the NJ political machine are scared of our momentum. They know they can no longer hide behind the political line. The truth is that whether it is Sherrill insider trading, or her misrepresenting her military service, or her exaggerating her time as a prosecutor, there are major issues that Republicans will exploit.

"My concern is that while she has had a free ride in her previous campaigns, (Jack) Ciattarelli will exploit her as an extremely weak general election candidate during the Trump era. Everything Sherrill tried to suggest today about me is old news that Jersey City residents rejected three elections in a row. Sherrill has never been vetted and that is becoming more clear and it is dangerous that we can lose in November. if she is the nominee."

Two points here.

One is that Fulop seems "happy" he is being criticized by the frontrunner. It gives his campaign credibility.

Second, Fulop's argument that Sherrill has had a "free ride" in past elections for her CD-11 seat is not really true.

She may have had token opposition last year, but she had legitimate Republican challengers in 2020 (Rosemary Becchi) and 2022 (Paul DeGroot). Both ran active campaigns against her.

One also has to assume that if there was anything truly nefarious in Sherrill's background, they would have found it.

No matter, Ras Baraka attacked Sherrill - and, in fact, - many other Democrats at a press conference last week. Now, Sherrill and Fulop are sparring.

And you can expect more to come between now and June 10.