Have there even been more twists in a race one year out from the actual vote?
Unlikely!
Yesterday, Ed the Trucker (Ed Durr, former LD3 State Senator) confirmed that he intends to enter the 2025 GOP gubernatorial primary.
Then, early Friday, former President Donald Trump joined Bill Spadea on his NJ 101.5 morning program ahead of Saturday’s Wildwood campaign rally. And while he did not name 2021 Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, he took some direct shots at the candidate whom Spadea himself is expected to challenge for the 2025 Republican nomination next spring.
“You had somebody running recently who did pretty well, and he didn’t have great support, to be honest,” Trump told the host. “I think he made some very big mistakes. You know who I’m talking about.”
“This guy never came to ask for my support, and you know what? When MAGA sees that, they don’t like it and they didn’t vote for him. He would have won easily if he did, but he didn’t do that,” Trump added. “He thinks he’s hot stuff, I guess, and he doesn’t have to do that.”
Trump also heaped praise on Spadea for his perceived past support.
“You’ve had my back from the beginning. I know all about it. That’s why I’m talking to you. I turn, I turn down plenty of requests, I will tell you. But you’ve had my back, and I really appreciate it,” Trump told Spadea. “You are fantastic.”
“You know what? If the last guy running for governor had supported you, he would have won, right?” Spadea continued.
“I say all the time,” Trump replied. “Everybody I support wins.”
While Trump stopped short of endorsing Spadea (who hasn’t announced he’s running yet but has continued to behave like a candidate via his “Common Sense” organization), it’s an objectively massive coup for Spadea as next year’s contest continues to take shape and the camps of the two leading candidates – himself and Ciattarelli – have begun to throw punches over who has been less supportive of Donald Trump and MAGA.
Back in 2016, Ciattarelli called Trump a “charlatan” and concluded he was “not fit to be president of the United States.” Meanwhile, in November 2023, Spadea told his listeners that Trump failed to prosecute the Deep State and that the 45th president had “failed.”
