After a contentious primary, Jack Ciattarelli kicked off his general election campaign with several stops in Dover in Morris County, a solidly Democratic town where 75% of residents identify as Latino.
“Buenos dias,” Ciattarelli greeted diners. To reporters, he said: “Feelin’ great! We’ve got work to do — and today that work begins!”
The venue made political sense. Ciattarelli’s primary victory was virtually assured after his endorsement by President Trump, who posted a pat-on-the-back announcement of the win on Truth Social. The president pulled in 43% of New Jersey’s Latino vote last November, according to the AP.
“Here in Dover, the Hispanic conservative population is like an unclaimed jewel, and we’re hoping to get a lot of Jack votes out of Dover,” said Jim Mullin, a Dover resident.
“The Hispanic community in New Jersey is critical to victory this November,” added Kennith Gonzalez, the New Jersey State Republican Committee’s executive director. “And we’ve seen over the last few years that in the state of New Jersey, the Hispanic community has been gravitating more and more towards the Republican Party. And it’s time to seal the deal.”
Gonzalez said Trump will campaign here alongside Ciattarelli, in the president’s full court press to flip New Jersey red. It’s a referendum on Trump that will unfold under a white hot media spotlight.
Ciattarelli won Tuesday’s Republican primary in a landslide, with almost 68% of the Republican vote. It’s his third shot at the front office in Trenton, and he took a preemptive strike against Democratic opponent Mikie Sherrill over the Trump factor.
“Mark my words, while we focus on these key New Jersey issues, my Democratic opponent will do everything in her power to change the subject,” he said. “Trust me, if this campaign were a drinking game and you took a shot, every time Mikie Sherrill says Trump, you’re gonna be drunk off your ass every day! Drunk off your ass every day between now and November 4th!”
Ciattarelli called Sherrill “Phil Murphy 2.0” and his campaign will seek to tie her to what Republicans claim is a Democratic Party legacy of high taxes, unaffordability and so-called “woke” liberal policies. The gloves came off immediately on Ciattarelli’s new opposition website, “Mikie Made Millions.”
“Aside from being in Congress and voting the way she did, she also got filthy rich in Congress,” said Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli strategist. “She tripled her net worth in Congress on a $174,000 salary. Good luck explaining that to people who are struggling every day.”
Sherrill’s campaign replied in a statement: “Jack is beginning his campaign with desperate lies. Mikie does not own or trade individual stocks, and outside experts have said she has gone ‘above and beyond’ House ethics rules.”
“Mikie has released her federal and state tax returns for both 2023 and 2024 because of her commitment to transparency — and if Jack was serious about transparency and accountability, he’d do the same,” the campaign continued. “What is he hiding?”
Meanwhile, Ciattarelli told supporters he will welcome Democrats and unaffiliated voters, and he urged Republican unity after a bruising primary campaign against conservative talk show host Bill Spadea, who won almost 22% of the vote. But Spadea wasn’t offering Ciattarelli any support and slammed him Tuesday night.
“[Ciattarelli] spent millions of dollars before we raised our first dollar,” Spadea told his supporters. “And they told a lot of lies. And the attacks were vicious. And it didn’t help that the president of the U.S. came in and supported a ‘Never Trumper.'”
“[Trump] didn’t support me in ’21,” Ciattarelli said. “I really didn’t expect him to support me here in ’25. But if you look at the primary numbers, the Republican Party across this state is united. And we’re going to win in November.”
