GOP's Jack Ciattarelli, who almost beat Murphy, is running for NJ governor again

Nancy Solomon

Published Apr 9, 2024

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New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli at his watch party on November 02, 2021 in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Nancy Solomon

Published Apr 9, 2024

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Former Republican Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli will announce his third run for New Jersey governor on Tuesday, giving primary-race competition to state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who announced his 2025 run in January.

The November 2025 election to replace Gov. Phil Murphy is an open seat because New Jersey governors can not serve more than two consecutive terms. Ciattarelli will announce the start of his campaign on Tuesday evening in Freehold, his campaign has confirmed. The Democratic primary already has three candidates and at least another two are expected to announce.

Ciattarelli, 62, served in the state Assembly for seven years and previously held a seat on the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, now known as the county commission. He ran for governor in the Republican primary in 2017, losing to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, whom Murphy later defeated in the general election.

But in 2021, Ciattarelli won the GOP nomination and came within 3.2% points of defeating Murphy on the heels of a global pandemic..

During his campaign against Murphy, Ciattarelli said he would cut taxes and talked about the lack of affordability New Jersey residents face, but struggled to point to specific areas of the state budget he would cut during debates and interviews. At the time, he said he’d loosen regulations on corporate governance, eliminate capital gains on the sales of small businesses, freeze taxes for seniors and allow tax deductions for charitable contributions.

He also criticized school curricula that center LGBTQ+ inclusivity and argued that children were being taught about sex at too young an age, promising Republican voters at a campaign event “we're not teaching sodomy in sixth grade.”

Voters in June 2025's primary will have a choice between Ciattarelli, who endorsed Trump, and Bramnick, who has opposed Trump since he first ran for president in 2016. It’s unclear if more Republicans will enter the race.

“One of the things that all Republicans in New Jersey struggle with is, ‘How do you deal with Donald Trump?’” said Matthew Hale, professor of political science and public affairs at Seton Hall University. “The goal is for Republicans to win, and if Donald Trump is the nominee, you support the nominee to win.”

Hale said Trump is likely to be the key issue in the primary in a traditionally deep blue state, although the vote will take place seven months after the presidential election.

“My guess is that he's not going to do it enthusiastically, that he's not going to support Trump's allegations of election fraud or the insurrection or anything like that. I think Jack really will try and separate himself from that part of it,” Hale said.

Ciattarelli spoke at a “stop the steal” rally in November 2020 that questioned the results of the presidential election, but he later said he didn’t understand that was the central message of the rally. Former President Barack Obama called him out for it during the 2021 campaign..

In the Democratic primary, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka have announced their gubernatorial campaigns. Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer are also expected to run.

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Politics