Ciattarelli, Sherrill clinch top spots in November race for governor

By Justus Wilhoit and Madison Miller
NJ State House News Service

In surprisingly quick order, Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill snagged their parties’ nominations to run for New Jersey governor in November. The primary races, with six Democrats and five Republicans, were called by The Associated Press less than 40 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m.

At Bell Works in Holmdel, Ciattarelli supporters celebrated amid blue and yellow balloons and a buffet of pasta, meatballs and spring rolls.

“We won because of our positive energy,” Ciattarelli told the crowd. “We won because we talked about the issues that matter, critical issues facing our state and my plan for a safer, more prosperous and affordable New Jersey.”

In Morristown, Democrats gathered at the Westin Governor Morris hotel for Sherrill, the member of Congress whose apparent lead in an Emerson College poll last month came with a caveat: Though she had 28% of active registered party members, one-fourth of voters were undecided. That left room for any of five other challengers to take the nomination.

“Tonight I pledge to you, we’re going to build something worthy of our state and worthy of our kids,” Sherrill told the room.

The evening wasn’t all niceties, though. In a preview of what’s likely to be brutal campaigning over the next five months, each candidate referred to President Donald Trump’s influence. Only New Jersey and Virginia are electing governors this year, and the races are being watched as a bellwether to 2026 mid-term elections, with the balance of Congress at stake.

“It’s New Jersey’s responsibility to lead this great nation,” Sherrill told her supporters. “A state like this is not going to be led by a Trump lackey like Jack Ciattarelli.”

At his own celebration, Ciattarelli said: “If this campaign were a drinking game and you took a shot every time Mikie Sherrill says ‘Trump,’ you’re gonna be drunk off your ass every day.”

In a statement, Phil Murphy, the term-limited Democratic governor who will leave office in January, congratulated Sherrill and Ciattarelli “for earning the trust and support of primary voters across the state.”

“I would also like to thank every candidate – on both sides of the aisle – who stepped up to run in this year’s election and participate in our sacred democratic process,” Murphy said.

Ciattarelli, a 63-year-old former Assembly member and medical publishing company founder, was the Republican nominee in 2021, but lost to Murphy by 3% of the vote. This time, in a field of five party mates, he had the endorsement of Trump, who called Ciattarelli “a true champion” who would lead New Jersey “out of that blue horror show.”

Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, called Ciattarelli’s victory “a great night” for the Republican party.

“The state’s headed in the wrong direction and Republicans are going to work together,” Hugin said in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.

Ciattarelli made his final campaign stop at DeLucia’s Brick Oven Pizza in Raritan. He said via the social media platform X in midafternoon: “It was incredible to see so many familiar faces – friends, neighbors, and supporters who’ve been with me since day one, along with new allies met along the way.”

Days before the election, he attended an early voting rally in Haskell, knocked on doors in Wayne and stopped by the Green Knoll Grill in Bridgewater and Whistler’s Inn in Cinnaminson.

Against four other candidates – former talk radio personality Bill Spadea, state Senator Jon Bramnick, ex-Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and building contractor Justin Barbera –  Ciattarelli had 44% in the Emerson poll, with 23% undecided. All but Bramnick had cast themselves as Trump acolytes.

Ciattarelli, a Somerville resident, sought to appeal to New Jerseyans who, in a once reliably blue state, increasingly are voting Republican. To boost his profile, Ciattarelli criticized Murphy on issues including taxes, energy costs and an offshore wind effort quashed by Trump administration policy.

Ciattarelli, in his speech, said he would appoint an attorney general “who supports both police and parents,” freeze seniors’ property taxes, overhaul the public school curriculum and end New Jersey’s status as a sanctuary state.

“We will bring back our cities and be serious about reducing the size and cost of our state government and cutting business taxes to create and track more jobs,” he said.

Sherrill, a 53-year-old former Navy helicopter pilot and ex-federal prosecutor, would be the first woman to lead New Jersey since Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who was elected in 1994. Her opponents were Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, 5th District Representative Josh Gottheimer and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller.

“We had six public servants running this primary,” Sherrill told her supporters. “Each had a different method, a different voice, a different experience, but we all shared one vision – a New Jersey that works for everyone, not just the privileged, not just the insiders, not just those who look like us or pray like us or love like us, a New Jersey for everyone,.”

Sherrill made final campaign stops at the Bloomfield train station, a South Amboy seniors’ high-rise and, in her Montclair hometown, the Montclair Diner and the Java Love coffee shop.

In a photo montage of volunteers canvassing in the rain and sunshine that followed, Sherrill posted on X.com: “I have been warmer, I have been more awake, and I have certainly been more dry … but I have never been more fired up.”

Sherrill had “a really strong grassroots campaign” with 2,000 volunteers, Sean Higgins, her campaign manager, told NJ Spotlight News. “People are inspired by her message and moved by her story,” Higgins said.

“We’re known for our grit, for our tenacity, maybe a little bit for how loud we are, but it’s going to take a strong voice to cut through the noise from Washington and deliver for the people,” Sherrill said.

Sherrill in 2019 flipped the 11th District seat held by 12-term Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, a scion of one of New Jersey’s oldest political families. For this race she ran heavily on reproductive freedom and access to contraceptives. She said she would build affordable housing, lower prescription and healthcare costs and encourage solar and other clean energy.

LeRoy Jones Jr., chairman of the Democratic State Committee, said in a statement that “no one had fought harder for New Jersey” than Sherrill. He took a swipe at Ciattarelli, saying he was “groveling for the support of Donald Trump and MAGA world.”

Chris Russell, a Republican strategist, told NJ Spotlight News that Trump will be an advantage for Ciattarelli, not a vulnerability. Though Trump lost New Jersey in the 2024 presidential election, he got almost 2 million votes – roughly 600,000 more than Murphy received in the 2021 governor’s race.

“Nobody gets the base more excited than Donald Trump,” Russell said. “Democrats have been in charge for 25 years and the state is a Dumpster fire. The state’s a mess. If voters want change, Jack Ciattarelli will give it to them.”