NEW: Major Scandal Rocks Key Gubernatorial Race As Trump-Endorsed Candidate Surges

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the Democratic Party nominee in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, has been implicated in a massive cheating scandal dating back to her time at the U.S. Naval Academy.

According to a bombshell report from the New Jersey Globe, Sherrill was barred from walking with her class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 due to her implication in a sweeping cheating scandal that implicated more than 130 midshipmen. A copy of the commencement program from May 25, 1994, which was obtained by the outlet, did not include Sherrill’s name

The congresswoman told The Globe that she was barred from the ceremony after failing to report classmates who had been involved in the scandal. “I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill said.

However, Sherrill’s campaign rejected a request for a public inspection of any disciplinary records dating back to her time at the academy. Only the congresswoman would be allowed to authorize the release of such records.

Sherrill speaks during her debate with Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli on September 22

Sherrill has made her time as a helicopter pilot and her graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy a central point of her campaign, though she has never made any mention to the cheating scandal in any stump speeches or campaign events. Rumors had swirled that she was involved in the scandal when she first ran for Congress in 2018, though it was suggested to the New Jersey Globe at the time that she had no involvement.

The scandal revolved around answers to an electrical engineering exam that were shared by some midshipmen with their classmates in 1992. Two dozen of Sherrill’s classmates were expelled, and one of those involved said in 2002that he thought more than 400 out of the 663 midshipmen who took the exam had seen copies of it in advance.

The revelations generated national outrage at the time, leading to congressional hearings and an internal investigation, which ultimately lead to the resignation of Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, the superintendent at Annapolis, and widespread debate over the storied academy’s code of conduct. The academy subsequently undertook significant reforms to strengthen its academic integrity system and restore public trust.

Sherrill’s potential involvement did not impact her Navy career, as she was assigned to Annapolis for 254 days after graduation as she awaited a spot to open up for her at the Navy flight school in Pensacola, Florida, The Globe noted. She went on to serve in the Navy for nine years and had been recommended for promotion to the rank of lieutenant commander before her retirement in 2003.

The bombshell report comes as the New Jersey gubernatorial race tightens significantly. One recent survey from National Research found Ciattarelli leading 46 percent-45 percent in a two-way race, a figure that includes a 21-point lead among voters not registered with either major party. That poll was followed up by a survey from Emerson College on Wednesday, which found the race tied.

These polls come after Sherill held a sizable 8.8 percent lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average last week, which has since declined to just above six percent.