Englewood Cliffs, NJ – In a stunning setback for conservative radio host Bill Spadea’s gubernatorial campaign, a New Jersey judge has rejected his attempt to remove rival Mario Kranjac from the Republican primary ballot, ensuring the Trump-supporting former mayor of Englewood Cliffs remains in the race for the June 10, primary.
The ruling not only keeps the GOP field intact but also delivers a significant blow to Spadea’s carefully crafted image as a champion of election fairness, exposing vulnerabilities in his campaign’s integrity narrative.
Spadea’s Bid to Oust Kranjac
It’s the same thing Democrats tried to do to President Trump. Like Spadea, they also failed.
The legal battle erupted when Spadea’s campaign launched a challenge against Kranjac’s nominating petitions, a prerequisite for securing a spot on the primary ballot. New Jersey law requires gubernatorial candidates to submit at least 2,500 valid signatures from registered Republican voters.
Spadea’s team alleged that Kranjac’s petitions were marred by irregularities, including signatures from Democrats, unregistered voters, forgeries, and even a deceased individual—claims Spadea framed as a defense of “election integrity.”
The judge disagreed with that assessment.
“Our review of Mario’s petition was always about ensuring that only qualified voters signed his petition,” Spadea declared in a statement on April 3.
“We identified hundreds of Democrats, unregistered voters, forged signatures, and even a dead voter.” The challenge sought to disqualify enough signatures to push Kranjac below the required threshold, effectively knocking him out of the race.
Those claims were not substantiated in the court system.
Spadea, a former NJ 101.5 morning host who stepped down in January 2025 to focus on his bid for governor, has positioned himself as a populist outsider aligned with Donald Trump’s agenda.
Some saw his move against Kranjac as a strategic effort to eliminate a competitor vying for the same MAGA base in a crowded primary field that includes former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and State Sen. Jon Bramnick.
The Judge’s Ruling: Kranjac Stays
On Wednesday, Administrative Law Judge Carl Buck III delivered a decisive ruling, finding that Kranjac’s petitions met the 2,500-signature requirement despite Spadea’s objections.
While the judge acknowledged some irregularities, he disagreed with Spadea’s arguments that they warranted Kranjac’s removal from the ballot.
The decision, pending final approval from Secretary of State Tahesha Way, is widely expected to stand, securing Kranjac’s place in the primary.
Kranjac, who submitted 3,021 signatures—486 of which were initially rejected—benefited from a campaign effort to cure defective entries.
His team worked to address issues like missing notarizations and to register unaffiliated petition circulators as Republicans by the state’s amendment deadline.
“Bill tried to disenfranchise 1,258 of my signers—people suffering from strokes, the disabled, and moms with children in their arms,” Kranjac charged in a fiery response on X, casting Spadea’s challenge as an attack on vulnerable voters.
The ruling marked a rare defeat for Spadea, whose campaign has leaned heavily on grassroots momentum and over $1 million in small-dollar donations. It also shifted the spotlight onto Kranjac, a self-described “forever Trumper” who has staked his candidacy on unwavering loyalty to Trump and a promise to restore “normalcy” to New Jersey.
