This is pretty big Election 2025 news:
One of New Jersey’s most influential labor organizations is endorsing the Republican nominee for governor, Save Jerseyans.
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 formally threw their formidable weight behind Jack Ciattarelli on Thursday. It’s become a bit of a bellwether endorsement. The Operators endorsed Phil Murphy in 2017 and 2021; they last endorsed a Republican for governor in 2013 when Chris Christie won a landslide reelection victory over then-Democrat State Senator Barbara Buono.
In recent years, the Operators have challenged Governor Murphy’s botched Energy Master Plan and efforts to industrialize the Jersey Shore through the construction of wind farms.
Representing over 8,000 members throughout all 21 New Jersey counties and portions of the Hudson Valley in New York, the leadership cited Ciattarelli’s credentials, the state’s fiscal crisis, as well as their opposition to disastrous green energy policies as reasons for backing Jack.
”If we wanna fix New Jersey’s energy crisis, add power to the grid as soon as possible, ensure New Jersey’s economic future, ensure that operating engineers have good job opportunities in the future, it is clear that we need Jack Ciattarelli to be our next governor,” said Greg Lalevee, the business manager for Local 825.
Ciattarelli is hoping to defeat Democrat Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill in November and become the first Republican to win the governorship in 12 years. The Ciattarelli campaign’s first released internal poll shows him trailing Sherrill inside the margin of error – by only 3 points – at the start of the General Election contest. There are over 800,000 more registered Democrats in New Jersey than Republicans, but that gap is about 250,000 smaller than it was back in 2021 when Ciattarelli fell short of unseating Phil Murphy by a littler over 80,000 votes.
