DENVER - They brought New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill out onto the stage with three other executives: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Colorado Governor-elect Phil Weiser, and Alaska Governor-elect Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.

The two guys disintegrated into the background as politics watchers immediately started kicking the tires and popping the hood on Sherrill versus Spanberger.

The two old friends inescapably projected friendly rivalry.

Sherrill started the conversation by talking about her favorite subject.

Affordability.

She ran on it, and won big on it, which rolled her party into 2026.

"New Jersey really is the center of the universe," said the NJ Governor, in what amounted to a first hard elbow thrown at everyone else on the stage.

The two guys kept quiet.

Spanberger objected.

Good thing they kept the two female governors separated on stage by Weiser, she cracked.

Sherrill went on to note that New Jersey is a "bastion of retail politics."

As though Virginia is hard to navigate.

Big and unwieldy.

You can't reach out and touch like you can in Jersey.

Then Spanberger appeared to walk into a right hand.

"Virginia has more data centers than anyone else in the country," she said.

Womp womp.

"Which means we're farther along in the conversation," the Virginia Governor added, as she proceeded to geek out with data center details and Sherrill politely listened.

Then the NJ Governor pivoted to her other favorite subject:

President Donald J. Trump.

"We've really had the measure of Trump for a long time," she said. "He bankrupted Atlantic City. [He tried to guillotine Gateway]... If Trump wants to work with us, we can lay out the agenda and he can sign it.

"People want that change now to take on the status quo and deliver - no excuses," Sherrill added. "This idea that we're going to fight as a Democratic Party, I don't buy it. We have our mandate and we have our mission."