Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., a candidate for the state's governor this year, was informed earlier this week that her Naval Academy records were released, largely intact, to a supporter of her Republican opponent in the race.

CBS reported that the release of Sherrill's mostly unredacted file marks a potential breach of personal privacy laws by a branch of the National Archives.

This coincides with a report from the New Jersey Globe that Sherrill was not permitted to participate in the Naval Academy's 1994 commencement ceremony. Her name did not appear in the program for the May 25 commencement.

The decision followed a cheating scandal involving more than 130 midshipmen in her class.

Sherrill has said that she was barred from the ceremony because she declined to report the involvement of some classmates.

"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 told the outlet.

The report said she had not authorized the release of sealed disciplinary records that would provide further details. 

The reporting of her Naval Academy experience comes as a recent poll shows her tied with Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor's race, after previously being considered the front-runner.

According to CBS, Sherrill said she thinks the Trump administration was trying to damage her campaign. But the network said it found the file request legitimate and did not appear to be an underhanded attempt to obtain the information that was released, including sensitive personal information such as her Social Security number.

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