Cross-Posted from DanCirucci.com
John Fettermnan and Jack Ciattarelli?
Yeah, they’re from neighboring states and they’re both pols but you wouldn’t necessarily think they’d have anything in common. But they do, and it’s worth noting.
Fetterman and Ciattarelli both started as outsiders in their own parties. Fetterman was never part of the Democrat establishment just like Ciattarelli has never been part of the GOP insider’s club. Both men charted their own paths to leadership positions and both have struck a populist tone, staying close to both grassroots party workers and, more importantly, those non-party types who may not usually even bother to vote.
And here’s the real similarity that may bode well for Ciattarelli: when he ran for the US Senate John Fetterman vowed to contest all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. He refused to write off a single county. In the end, Fetterman not only won by more than 300,000 votes but he cut into the GOP vote in traditionally Republican counties while winning Democrat counties by huge margins. For example, Fetterman won Philadelphia by a whopping 67% vote margin while in Clarion County, a strong Republican area, he received 28.9% of the vote, compared to Joe Biden’s 24.3% in 2020. The big and small percentages worked together and this “every county, every vote” strategy was key to Fetterman’s flipping a Senate seat from Republican to Democrat.
Right now, in New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is using the same strategy. Ciattarelli is campaigning non-stop in all of the Garden State’s 21 counties. The affable Ciattarelli calls his approach “all gas, no brakes” and he literally seems to be in every part of the state every day. In fact, the day after his big primary win Jack was right back out on the campaign trail mingling with voters. And he makes it a point to venture into traditionally Democrat areas day after day.
Sure, Ciattarelli knows that some counties are red and some are blue but his plan is to come out of deep red counties like Monmouth with the biggest GOP margin ever while simultaneously cutting into his opponent’s margin in traditionally Democrat counties like Hudson. At the same time, Ciattarelli seems determined to flip a swing county like Burlington as well. Cut into Democrat strongholds by three, four or five percent and the votes add up — especially if you can win big in your own strongholds and flip a county or two.
Ciattarelli knows the numbers. In fact, he has the stats pretty much memorized. He understands the odds he’s up against in a blue state like New Jersey. But, like Fetterman, he will fight for every vote in every corner of the state. And Jack will carry out that fight 24/7 unburdened by the health woes and attendant doubts that Fetterman faced.
Pulling something like this is a high wire act, no question about it. But Ciattarelli is agile, focused and determined. Nobody works harder, listens longer or stays closer to the votes and the voters than Jack Ciattarelli. And, regardless of party, that’s an approach that a fellow pol like Fetterman would certainly admire.
