TRENTON, NJ – Pork Roll or Taylor Ham? Who cares, when most New Jerseyans can’t afford either these days, thanks to five years of Bidenflation and Phil Murphy’s economic policies. Now, the name of the beloved Jersey meat has become a major campaign issue in New Jersey’s election for governor.
Food prices in New Jersey under Democrats is the only thing that’s gross around here when it comes to the great Pork Roll and Taylor Ham debate.
The cost of pork roll, New Jersey’s most iconic breakfast meat, has nearly doubled since 2021 — and now it’s sizzling at the center of the state’s political debate.
Once selling for under $6 a pound at local delis, Taylor Pork Roll now tops $11.99 per pound at major retailers like ShopRite, according to current listings. For many residents, the increase is a tangible sign of broader inflation that has strained family budgets across the Garden State.
Economists say the jump mirrors national trends in rising food prices, driven by higher energy costs, transportation expenses, and feed prices for producers. Inflation peaked at a 40-year high in 2022 and, while easing since then, continues to linger at the grocery store.
The issue has quickly found its way into the 2025 New Jersey governor’s race after Virginia native Mikie Sherrill called the beloved meat “gross”.
Sherrill, a Virginia native, sparked backlash after a clip circulated online showing her dismissing the beloved meat. “Who eats pork roll? Not me. I think that’s gross. I don’t even know what it is. I’ve had this fight multiple times. Nobody wants pork roll,” Sherrill said in the video that spread across social media this weekend.
The comment ignited a wave of criticism from both sides of the long-standing “Taylor Ham versus pork roll” debate, with locals viewing the remark as a slight against a New Jersey staple. The New Jersey GOP quickly fired back on social media, writing, “Taylor Ham or pork roll, we’ll fight over what to call it, but we all love it.”
Her Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, who narrowly lost to Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, pounced on the comment, calling it “a disqualification for anyone who wants to lead this state.”
Ciattarelli told supporters, “If you don’t understand what pork roll means to New Jersey, you don’t understand New Jersey.”
Meanwhile, residents continue to grapple with the reality that their favorite breakfast sandwich now costs almost twice as much. Retailers list sliced pork roll between $10.99 and $11.99 per pound, up from roughly $5.50 in 2021.
The cost of living and rising food prices have become important issues in the race, with Ciattarelli blaming economic pain on “failed policies from Trenton and Washington,” while Sherrill points to global disruptions and supply chain issues, not bad financial policies of the Biden administration.
At diners from Trenton to Toms River, the question of who’s to blame may divide voters — but one thing’s certain: New Jersey’s most famous breakfast meat has become a political hot plate in the race for governor.
