
Well that didn’t take long.
2021 GOP nominee Jack Ciattarelli conceded to Governor Murphy on Friday in his hometown of Raritan, but the two-time gubernatorial candidate also threw down the gauntlet for 2025.
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“That is exactly my plan,” Ciattarelli told the audience after being asked whether he planned another run in four years.
Jumping right back into the next race isn’t out of character for Ciattarelli who announced his 2021 campaign almost immediately after Kim Guadagno’s 2017 general election loss. New Jersey political history does contain examples of future governors winning on the second time around.
In 1990, Christine Todd Whitman narrowly lost her challenge to U.S. Senator Bill Bradley before returning in 1993 to defeat Jim Florio for governor.
Then, in 1997, Jim McGreevey almost upset Whitman. He ultimately won the 2001 gubernatorial contest four years later.
Here’s Ciattarelli’s full remarks (and the Q&A that followed) in case you missed it: