Ciattarelli works New Jersey crowds as Sherrill courts California cash
Trenton, NJ –New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has touted New Jersey as the California of the East Coast. Since taking office, Murphy has imported many of California’s unpopular far-left agenda to the Garden State. That includes, gas car bans, overregulation that led to higher energy and fuel prices, radical political indoctrination of public school students, sanctuary state policies, and eroding education in many rural communities in favor of bolstering failing urban school districts.
This week, Mikie Sherrill is in California raising money from the same donors and politicians that led to the problems California faces today.
Her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli is staying close to home as the race for New Jersey governor tightens, crisscrossing the state with town halls and community visits, while Democrat Mikie Sherrill has flown to California to raise money from national donors.
Ciattarelli, making his run for governor, has been hammering kitchen-table issues like property taxes, energy costs and school funding. This week he hosted a town hall in Pitman, spoke at a meet-and-greet in Waldwick, and rallied supporters in Morris County. His campaign says he’s also gaining traction in diverse communities, attending Latin-American festivals and meeting voters in neighborhoods struggling with high costs and rising crime tied to illegal immigration.
“While my opponent raises money in California, I’m talking to voters right here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said Tuesday in a social media post.
Polls show Sherrill ahead, but with a narrowing margin. A TechnoMetrica survey put her lead at 46% to 39% among likely voters, while a Newsweek poll pegged the gap at 10 points. Analysts say Ciattarelli’s inroads with minority voters could prove critical, especially in areas where Sherrill has previously underperformed.
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Sherrill, a Navy veteran and three-term congresswoman, is spending the week in California meeting with wealthy Democratic donors linked to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign. Her campaign says the trip is necessary to counter national Republican spending, but critics argue it shows her priorities are with out-of-state liberals, not New Jersey families.
“Mikie’s jetting off to California, raising money from ultra-liberal donors,” Ciattarelli’s campaign posted, warning she would continue Gov. Phil Murphy’s push to make New Jersey “the California of the East Coast.”
Sherrill’s second-quarter fundraising reports showed her hauling in millions, outpacing Ciattarelli and setting up a costly fall campaign. She also rolled out her first general election TV ad, pitching herself as a bipartisan leader while attacking Ciattarelli for his ties to President Donald Trump.
The candidates face off in a Sept. 21 debate at Rider University before heading into a busy October that includes a commercial real estate forum and the start of early voting on Oct. 28.
Key Points
- Jack Ciattarelli is holding grassroots events across New Jersey, focusing on taxes, energy costs, and schools.
- Mikie Sherrill is in California raising money from national Democratic donors, drawing criticism from opponents.
- Polls show Sherrill with a lead, but the margin is narrowing as the Nov. 4 election approaches.
New Jersey voters will decide whether homegrown campaigning beats West Coast fundraising.