NJGOP Gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli visited Fox News over the weekend to discuss his candidacy, taxes, the NJEA, COVID-19, Chris Christie, and whether New Jersey is winnable for a Republican in 2021.
“There may be more Democrats than Republicans, but they are not stupid. Murphy’s record has failed us,” Ciattarelli told FNC host Mike Emanuel. “But know this, over the last four decades Republicans have won six of the last 10 gubernatorial elections in this state. When it comes to gubernatorial elections, we’re really a purple state with a tint of red.”
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Watch below:
Transcript:
Emanuel: Full disclosure, I am from Westfield, New Jersey and a proud Rutgers alum. So that probably means New Jersey politics runs through my blood.
Ciattarelli: Exit 135, I know Mike.
Emanuel: New Jersey has a million more Democrats registered than Republicans. How do you overcome what could be a simple math problem?
Ciattarelli: There may be more Democrats than Republicans but they’re not stupid. Murphy’s record has failed us. But know this, over the last four decades Republicans have won six of the last 10 gubernatorial elections in this state. When it comes to gubernatorial elections, we’re really a purple state with a tint of red.
Emanuel: As a Jersey boy, I know there’s a whole lot of heartburn about high taxes in the Garden State, do you see a path of potentially being able to provide some tax relief to your voters?
Ciattarelli: Absolutely Mike, I’m an MBA/CPA and a two-time successful business owner here in New Jersey. I’ve employed fellow New Jerseyans. That’s not something Phil Murphy can say, and I know exactly what needs to be done to lower our property taxes and exactly what needs to be done to our tax code to make New Jersey a better place to do business so we can create more jobs. By the way, those are two things Phil Murphy never talks about: our property tax crisis and the fact that New Jersey is the worst place in the nation in which to do business.
Emanuel: As a Dad, I think parents are worried about the impact COVID has had on our children’s education. Are you concerned about basically a new school year and how you make sure that kids make up for lost time in the classroom?
Ciattarelli: With Phil Murphy as our governor, I’m very, very concerned because of his cozy and conflicted relationship with the teacher’s union leadership. He’s shown no leadership on this issue in terms of getting our children back in school, and he should be doing everything possible with the Joe Biden money that’s been given to him to ensure that our school districts will be open come September, I would be guaranteeing it.
