NEW: Prominent Democrat’s Flailing Campaign Hits Another Brutal Snag

The New Jersey Democrat running in November’s gubernatorial election hit a snag on Tuesday when allegations of nepotism surfaced concerning her son’s acceptance into a prestigious military academy.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), who polls show is tied with her Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli in the Garden State, is embroiled in a cheating scandal involving her time as a student at the U.S. Naval Academy.

“I am so proud of all the young men and women from NJ-11 who are reporting to the military academies or academy preparatory programs this summer,” Sherrill said in a press release announcing that 24 New Jersey students, including her two children, Lincoln and Margaret Hedberg, had been accepted to various military academies.

The press release did not note that the children were using her husband’s last name, and a photo of Sherrill with the students did not include either of her children.

“From my time at the Naval Academy, I remember how challenging the academy’s programs are — both academically and physically,” the press release added. “Learning to work as a team and overcoming those challenges prepared me to lead servicemembers as a military officer. I am grateful for these young men and women who are willing to serve our nation in uniform and I wish them the best of luck as they start their careers as future military leaders.”

It is customary for members of Congress to recommend students from their own states who are applying to military academies; however, the academies ultimately make the decisions about who will be selected.

Some have suggested that it is patently unfair for Sherrill, as the mother of two applicants, to endorse their attempts to attend the prestigious schools. The Naval Academy has one of the most competitive undergraduate programs in the country, accepting just 9% of applicants each year.

“Mikie Sherrill’s two kids are at the Naval Academy, one of the hardest schools to get into, because of her nepotism,” Rasmussen pollster Mark Mitchell posted on X. “Meanwhile, some hardworking, impoverished, and unconnected teenagers lose out on a life dream they earned.”

Journalist Jennifer Jean Miller posted on X, “Far left politicians like Mikie Sherrill like to virtue signal about privilege…yet have no problem exerting their own privilege. How did Mikie Sherrill’s two kids get into the Naval Academy? Did two other deserving students miss out because of her nepotism?”

An aide to U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) came to Sherrill’s defense on Tuesday, claiming that Booker nominated one of her two children.

“Each year, Senator Booker, as a member of Congress, has the honor of nominating qualified young people to serve in the United States military service academies,” Booker’s office told Fox News.

“Prospective candidates go through an extensive application and screening process with service members and academy volunteers to recommend the best candidates to the academy based on merit. The candidates put forth for each academy represent the best and brightest that New Jersey has to offer.”

A spokesman for former Democratic Sen. George Helmy confirmed that Helmy nominated her other child.

Sherrill told Fox News in a statement that, in “order to remove even the appearance of a conflict of interest, my children did not compete in my office’s service academy nomination process.”

“Instead, they applied to the offices of the U.S. Senators from New Jersey, who also run academy nomination processes each year, and I am proud that they each earned nominations on their own,” Sherrill added.

“Every year, our office runs a competitive and nonpolitical process to select the best nominees to submit to the academies. I am honored to nominate the service academy appointees from our district who step up to serve our country.”