On Chat Box with David Cruz this week, Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union), the first Republican to officially enter the 2025 race for the governorship, explains why he’s running. Can the self-proclaimed “funniest lawyer in New Jersey” win over hardline Trump supporters and independent voters looking for a change? What are his policy plans and his strategy for navigating a changing Republican Party?

With NJ Transit fare hikes planned and increased highway tolls approved, environmentalists and others are sounding the alarm about the potential challenges facing the state in trying to balance the need for infrastructure upgrades and resiliency efforts. Against that backdrop, Alex Ambrose of New Jersey Policy Perspective, Anjuli Ramos-Busot of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter and Larry Higgs of NJ.com discuss battles brewing over Liberty State Park, highway expansion and flood mitigation.

Watch Chat Box on the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel Thursdays at 6 p.m., and on NJ PBS Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m.