One election ends and another begins, Save Jerseyans. Welcome to New Jersey where state elections occur in odd-years.
On the morning after Donald Trump’s historic and decisive victory, the four announced NJGOP gubernatorial candidates (so far) for Election 2025 offered statements of congratulations. The race could be interesting in light of the president-elect’s narrow loss last night and the fact that it’s an open seat since Phil Murphy is term-limited.
“Here in New Jersey, President Trump’s performance was the best for a Republican presidential nominee since 1992 – bringing with him Republican wins at the local & county level all across our state. Make no mistake, the gains are the direct result of working people frustrated with our state’s cost of living and encroaching crime,” opined Jack Ciattarelli, a former Assemblyman and the party’s 2021 nominee who himself came within a few points of defeating Murphy. “They’re also fed up with being told that they are bad people if they don’t support boys playing girls sports or age-inappropriate sex ed in our schools.”
“Congratulations @realDonaldTrump. Critical win last night,” tweeted NJ 101.5 host Bill Spadea over on X. “The Republic continues. And, thanks to the massive efforts from leaders like @Congressman_JVD and [Ocean County GOP Chairman] George Gilmore, NJ is now purple. We’re on our way to making NJ red again. See you in 2025.”
“If Donald Trump proved anything by winning this election it is that the people want a plain-spoken candidate who isn’t afraid to say what they mean,” former state Senator Ed “The Trucker” Durr of South Jersey offered in his own released statement. “It also proved we are right on the issues.”
The fourth current candidate – Jon Bramnick, a state senator from Union County – is a Never Trumper unlike his primary competition. Bramnick once promised to DROP out of the race if Trump won the state this year. He nevertheless struck a conciliatory tone in his own statement.
“There is much reason for optimism in the Republican Party as a diverse coalition of voters delivered a clean sweep of the Presidency, control of the U.S. Senate, and a majority in the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. Republicans now have the opportunity to deliver on their promise of smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, a secure border and law and order,” Bramnick stated.” I am optimistic they will be able to make good on these commitments and the United States will be better for it.”
It remains to be seen whether Trump formally weighs into the race.
He stopped just short of endorsing Spadea ahead of his May 2024 Wildwood, New Jersey rally and criticized Ciattarelli for allegedly losing in 2021 due to an insufficient expression of support for Trump. However, the President didn’t ultimately endorse (at least not yet) and Trump allies are situated on both sides of the divide: Spadea’s general consultant is former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, and the leading pro-Ciattarelli super pac is led by Kellyanne Conway. The PAC – Kitchen Table Conservatives – has already spent money highlighting Spadea’s own past criticism of Trump.
New Jersey’s last Republican governor was Chris Christie who was reelected in 2013 in a landslide in the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The state presently suffers from a 900,000 Democrat voter registration advantage, but that number (which has trended away from Democrats in recent years) didn’t preven the state from being close yesterday and back in 2021.
Donald Trump trailed in New Jersey by less than 5-points on Wednesday morning and flipped five counties versus 2020. The last time a Republican finished that strongly in a New Jersey president contest? 1992.
