Jack Ciattarelli has clinched the Republican nomination in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, with the Associated Press and the Washington Post calling the primary in his favor shortly after voting ended on June 10.
Although the final certified tally won’t be available until later in June, major media outlets declared Ciattarelli the winner at 8:17 p.m., just minutes after the polls shut.
Before the official projections were even made, hundreds of supporters had already gathered at Ciattarelli’s election night event at Bell Works in Holmdel. As of 8:30 p.m., no formal announcement had been delivered, but the atmosphere was one of clear anticipation.
Ciattarelli, who came close to unseating Governor Phil Murphy in 2021, became the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination several weeks ago when President Donald Trump threw his support behind him via social media.
Trump wrote online that Ciattarelli is a “terrific America first candidate.”
“Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100%,” Trump added in the same post, a nod to Ciattarelli’s early criticism in 2015 when he had referred to the president as a “charlatan.”
Though he once distanced himself from Trump, Ciattarelli would later back him and even spoke at a “Stop the Steal” event in 2020, which promoted the false notion that Joe Biden’s election victory was due to fraud. Ciattarelli himself has never publicly stated support for that belief.
Following his narrow defeat in the 2021 race, Ciattarelli pledged to make another bid for the governorship. He had previously run in 2017 but was defeated in the Republican primary by Kim Guadagno, then the lieutenant governor.
Originally from Raritan and now living in Somerville, Ciattarelli has built a long political career, having held positions in the state Assembly as well as in municipal and county government.
In this year’s GOP primary, Ciattarelli prevailed over conservative talk show host Bill Spadea and state Senator Jon Bramnick.
It remains uncertain who Ciattarelli will face in the general election as he sets his sights on succeeding Governor Murphy.
As of the beginning of June, New Jersey had 6,574,692 registered voters. That included 2,451,752 Democrats and 1,624,437 Republicans. Compared to a year ago, Democratic registration had decreased by 44,302, while Republicans saw an increase of 60,666.
All eyes will be on New Jersey as one of only two states — along with Virginia — holding a governor’s race this year. Political analysts have already begun framing the contest as an early test of how voters are responding to the direction and policies of the second Trump administration.
{Matzav.com}