Sherrill took opioid company donations while attacking opponent over crisis

First on Fox: New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill has taken tens of thousands of dollars from companies tied to the opioid crisis and is attacking her Republican opponent over his alleged connection to the same crisis.

Sherrill spoke during a news conference about the opioid epidemic in the Garden State on Monday, where she accused Ciattarelli of “looking for ways to help people access medications that were killing them” through his ties to drug-assisted training programs.

“I heard that, Jack made millions,” she said. “Opioid companies have made billions and thousands of dollars New Jersey “They were dying.”

However, this attack may come back to haunt her election campaign. Her congressional campaigns received three $1,000 donations from the AmerisourceBergen political action committee in 2018, 2019 and 2022, according to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital.

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Democrat Mikie Sherrill participates in the final New Jersey gubernatorial debate with Republican Jack Ciattarelli in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on October 8. (Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)

Her campaign also received at least $4,500 from Teva Pharmaceuticals PAC, $1,000 from Endo Pharmaceuticals PAC and $1,000 from Endo Pharmaceuticals PAC. $17,000 from Johnson & Johnson.

In total, Fox News Digital’s review found at least $25,500 in donations coming from companies tied to the opioid crisis to Sherrill’s campaign.

AmerisourceBergen may have been accused Most notable in 2021 By Washington State’s Democratic Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, profiting billions from the opioid epidemic by shipping dangerous painkillers with no regard for how those drugs contribute to the deaths of citizens. AmerisourceBergen, which is now operated by Cencora, and two other companies will continue to do so Reach a settlement With Washington State for more than $500 million.

In early 2022, AmerisourceBergen, whose executives had previously been exposed He mocks the people of West Virginia As a “pill” at the height of the opioid crisis, it announced it would agree to a $6.1 billion settlement that would be paid out over 18 years and would cover “the vast majority of opioid-related lawsuits brought by state and local government agencies,” according to a press release.

Jack Ciattarelli calls on Mikie Sherrill to ‘clean up’ as explosive accusations mount in New Jersey governor’s race

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli on stage before the final debate in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on October 8. (Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)

In late 2022, the Department of Justice I filed a lawsuit v. AmerisourceBergen, one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors, alleging that the company “for years flouted its legal obligations and prioritized profits over the well-being of Americans” by failing to report suspicious orders for controlled substances, such as fentanyl and oxycodone, which were then sold illegally, fueling the devastating opioid epidemic.

The three other pharmaceutical companies that donated thousands of dollars to Sherrill’s campaigns through their political action committees also reached massive settlements for their roles in contributing to the opioid crisis, which include more than $4 billion from Teva to participating states and local governments, according to a report. press release From the office of Texas AG Ken Paxton.

Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $5 billion as part of the settlement, according to its 2022 press release.

Mickey Sherrill, communications director for Gov. Sean Higgins, responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, calling the story “a desperate attack from perennial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who refuses to respond to his role in spreading misinformation about the dangers of opioids at the height of the opioid epidemic.”

“Miki Sherrill has shown time and time again that she will stand up to anyone to stand up for families and fight the opioid crisis. That’s why she helped pass historic bipartisan legislation, signed by President Trump, to help fund treatment, recovery and prevention programs in New Jersey.”

The campaign did not address Fox News Digital’s question about whether money donated by pharmaceutical companies would be returned.

In 2017, Ciattarelli received $1,500 from Mallinckrodt LLC PAC, a company that reached a settlement for its involvement in the opioid crisis in 2022. Additionally, the New Jersey Republican received $500 from Johnson & Johnson, a company that also reached a settlement for opioids, in 2016.

“Just as Miki Sherrill was caught red-handed, personally profiting from investments in the same New Jersey utility companies she blamed for increasing electricity prices, it is not surprising to learn that Miki’s hypocrisy extends to taking thousands in campaign contributions from the very pharmaceutical companies she criticized,” Chris Russell, a strategist at Ciattarelli, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Yesterday.”

He continued: “At this point, if Mickie Sherrill’s lips are moving, you can assume she is lying.”

Sherrill first made her claims that Ciattarelli contributed to the opioid epidemic during last week’s gubernatorial debate.

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New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mickey Sherrill (right) and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli (left) pose on stage at the start of their second and final debate, on October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News Digital)

“Regarding everything she just said about my career, which I presented [for] My family, it’s a lie. I’m proud of my career,” Ciattarelli responded in the discussion.

During his 2021 campaign, Ciattarelli’s association with opioid manufacturers first came to light. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017.

Chiattarelli’s campaign responded The day after the debate, he vowed to file a defamation suit against Cheryl.

“Mickey Sherrill has collapsed,” Ciattarelli’s chief campaign strategist, Russell, said at the time.

“In doing so, she claimed – twice – that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ a clearly defamatory attack that shocked moderators, the press and the public alike,” Russell added. “At a time when political violence and violent rhetoric have become all too common, Mikie Sherrill baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line.”

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.