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Live Wednesday: A conversation with NJ's Republican candidates for governor
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published May 7, 2025
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Bobby Bank, Spencer Platt and Manny Carabel / Getty Images
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published May 7, 2025
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It's been more than 60 years since New Jersey voters sent the same party to the governor's office for three terms in a row. The three Republican candidates hoping to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy have to feel pretty good about that.
But before they can face off against the winner of the overcrowded Democratic primary, they'll need to face one another. On Wednesday evening, former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, former radio show host Bill Spadea and state Sen. Jon Bramnick will do so in a conversation with Michael Hill, host of WNYC's "Morning Edition;" and David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News senior political correspondent and host of "Chat Box" on NJ PBS.
A recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll found a lot of wiggle room in this primary, with no Republican candidate getting a favorable rating above 18% — but most voters saying they either have no opinion of each candidate, or don't yet know who they are.
Amid a looming NJ Transit strike, a housing crisis that advocates say leaves New Jersey short about 200,000 affordable homes, and the Trump administration's ever-shifting pronouncements on immigration enforcement and funding for local initiatives like schools and social programs, Hill and Cruz will zoom in on some of the most pressing issues for New Jersey voters.
A conversation with the Democratic candidates follows on Monday, May 12.
Hear the conversation with the Republican gubernatorial candidates: Tune in Wednesday at 7 p.m. on 93.9 FM or 820 AM, listen online at wnyc.org or the WNYC app, or watch on PBS in New Jersey. You can also watch the live video on Wednesday evening below:
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Politics
Louis C. Hochman
After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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