Ciattarelli blasts Sherill ad as ‘desperate lie’ over sales tax remark
Bergen County, NJ – As Mikie Sherrill sees Jack Ciattarelli climbing in the polls, narrowing the gap between himself and the far-left progressive Democrat candidate, her campaign is rolling out a new tactic, flat-out lying.
Sherrill has lost the battle to defend her Democratic party’s record on high taxes and record-breaking energy prices. It’s a hole she’s finding hard to dig out of. This week, the Democratic Governors Association came to her aid with an ad that was quickly debunked as false within hours of its release. The ad claimed Ciattarelli wanted to raise New Jersey’s sales tax to 10%.
The problem is, Jack Ciattarelli never said that, now he’s fighting back against a desperate hail mary by national democrats investing millions of dollars to push their far-left candidate across the finish line, at all costs, even lying, a conduct unbecoming of a naval officer. She often touts her experience as a former U.S. Navy pilot.
The first of the Navy’s core values is “Honor,” which officers are expected to embody at all times. The Core Values Charter explicitly requires them to “abide by an uncompromising code of integrity” and to “be honest and truthful in [their] dealings within and outside the Department of the Navy”.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is firing back at a new Democratic attack ad that accuses him of backing a 10% sales tax on food and clothing, calling the claim “a desperate tactic by a desperate campaign.”
The first signs of defeat is when a campaign starts lying. And this seems to me to be a desperate tactic by a desperate campaign on behalf of a desperate candidate.
-Jack Ciattarelli
The ad, funded by the Greater Garden State PAC and backed by the Democratic Governors Association, features selectively edited audio from a June 4 rally where Ciattarelli referenced Tennessee’s tax structure. In that state, there is no income tax, but a 10% sales tax applies to most goods, including food and clothing.
Ciattarelli says the comments were taken out of context and misrepresented. “The first signs of defeat are when a campaign starts lying,” he told supporters. “I never said I endorse that approach here in New Jersey. I was just explaining what other states do.”
New Jersey currently levies a 6.625% sales tax but exempts groceries and clothing. Ciattarelli told voters he would not pursue Tennessee’s model, instead advocating for simplifying New Jersey’s income tax brackets, with possible rates of 3%, 4%, and 5%.
The American Bridge 21st Century PAC, which released the original recording, has been accused by Ciattarelli’s campaign of splicing audio to create the misleading impression that he supported a higher sales tax.
Democrats, however, seized on the clip, framing it as evidence that Ciattarelli would raise taxes on everyday essentials. The attack ad claims he wants a “50% sales tax increase on essential goods,” a claim independent fact-checkers have labeled false and misleading.
While Ciattarelli did say “every option is on the table” when it comes to reforming New Jersey’s tax system, he has not proposed a 10% sales tax. Instead, he has focused on restructuring income taxes and reducing the state’s overall tax burden, which remains among the highest in the nation under Gov. Phil Murphy and a Democratic-controlled legislature.
