By Matt Rooney
_
There are two types of primaries, Save Jerseyans: (1) those which strengthen the party and (2) those that leave the party’s candidates too damaged to survive a general election.
Where will this year’s 2021 NJGOP gubernatorial contest fall when the dust finally settles?
–
We were expecting a vicious contest, sure, but things have already gone nuclear and it’s only the first full work day of the new year.
Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign is zeroing in on Steinhardt’s law firm’s swampy political connections and activities; his fellow partners include ex-Governor Jim “Toilet Paper Tax” Florio.
Eager to play catch-up given Ciattarelli’s long head start, Doug Steinhardt’s team is attacking Ciattarelli over everything from Chinese investments to the ex-Assemblyman’s shooting stance.
I’m not going to say that any of this irrelevant, folks (the shooting stance thing was as much an attempt at humor as a serious critique). Not at this point anyway. When you run for high office, there’s an expectation that your character, decision-making, and any potential vulnerabilities which could come out in a general election will be laid bare. Almost everything is on the table. Primary voters can then decide for themselves which candidate is the stronger option to carry the party’s banner into November.
At the risk of sounding condescending or self-righteous (I’ll get accused of it anyway, so who cares?), I sincerely think it’s worth putting a word of caution out there on behalf of all New Jersey Republicans who undecided and watching this race very closely to see if anyone has what it takes to defeat the incumbent:
I will vote for the candidate who I think will do the best job of prosecuting Phil Murphy for nursing home deaths, giving vaccines to prisoners before seniors, and turning my beloved Garden State into California sans the year-round pool weather.
I’m one primary voter but I doubt I’m alone on this one.
Very little else matters to me.
This upcoming election is about so much more than tax rates, spending, biographical op research and the usual array of familiar campaign issues. New Jerseyans and New Jersey businesses are literally dying left and right, and with a Biden Administration very unlikely to honestly complete the DOJ’s probe of New Jersey’s veterans home carnage, beating Phil Murphy in November is now our only hope of rescue.
Some of you will remember that I co-moderated last spring’s only NJ-03 GOP debate between David Richter and Kate Gibbs. The candidates beat the tar out of one another for months and, at the end of the day, the eventual nominee was easy pickings for Andy Kim and the DCCC. I’ve seen this movie before and I’m not keen to see the 2021 remake.
If I was running in the 2021 primary (God help us all)? I’d repeat four items 24/7/365 without coming up for air:
(1) Murphy lied, grandma died
(2) End the lockdowns
(3) Open the schools
(4) N.J. taxpayers first
That’s it. That’s the message regardless of what my opponent(s) were talking about. In direct language, not careful political-speak.
If one of these gubernatorial hopefuls repeated those items non-stop? Strongly, loudly, and with convinction? It wouldn’t matter what the eventual primary loser accused them of up through the first Tuesday and June. A movement would coalesce around them capable of taking on and defeating Phil Murphy.
Early days, Save Jerseyans. Let’s see what happens; in the interim, you should feel free to interact with the campaigns via social media and let them know what sort of campaign you want. Your feedback matters. Take ownership of this race or don’t complain when we get to November and the case presented against Phil Murphy isn’t what you wanted to hear or see.
–
