Campaign Crawlers election Featured Governors New Jersey

Jack Ciattarelli Wraps Run With Raritan Rally | The American Spectator

November 4, 2025

RARITAN, NJ — New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, the surging Jack Ciattarelli, concluded his campaign last night with a rousing election-eve rally just steps from his boyhood home.

“I’m telling you right here and now,” the former state lawmaker and recovering CPA told about 300 cheering supporters, “26 hours from right now, we’re declaring victory. We’re winning this race!”

Tanned, rested, and ready to govern, Ciattarrelli appeared at John Basilone Memorial Park in this suburb about 45 miles southwest of Rockefeller Center. Clapboard Victorian homes here stand among modest lawns. Just across Somerset Street from the rally venue, what looks like a slightly haunted mansion stares down from atop a short, steep hill. At any moment, Herman Munster could have burst through the front door, and everyone would have seen it coming. (RELATED: Tax Hikes and Upset Voters Could Be Clincher for GOP in New Jersey’s Governor Race)

At about 8:15 p.m. on a cool, slightly breezy Monday evening, Ciattarelli, 63, previewed his plans for his first hours in office.

“Executive Order Number One: No town in this state will be a sanctuary city, and we will not be a sanctuary state.”

“On Day One in my administration, Executive Order Number One: No town in this state will be a sanctuary city, and we will not be a sanctuary state. We’re not going to encourage illegal immigration nor make the job of our law enforcement community harder.”

“Executive Order Two,” Ciattarelli continued. “We’ll bring back to work all of our state workers. Have you tried getting somebody on the phone? Have you tried getting your issue resolved? You can’t get these people on the phone. You pay for that state government. When I’m your governor, it’ll work every single day for you.”

“We’re going to reduce the size and cost of our state government to afford a tax cut for individuals and businesses — which is long overdue,” Ciattarelli promised.

In fact, he put that commitment in writing. Last March, as he did in his 2021 gubernatorial bid, Ciattarelli signed Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge to oppose all tax increases.

“Turning to tax hikes has led many families to turn to the exits and leave New Jersey,” said ATR president Grover Norquist. “Ending the tax hike trend should be job one for the next governor.”

Smiling crowd at outdoor event at night.

Ciattarelli greeted a voter at his Raritan election eve rally (Photo by Peter Guziejewski)

If Ciattarelli wins tonight, his first day still will not be done.

“Also on Day One, I will lower your electricity bill by pulling out of Phil Murphy’s carbon tax cap-and-trade policies,” Ciattarelli continued. “We’re getting rid of the EV mandate. I’m never telling you what car to buy. I’m not telling you how to heat your home. I’m not telling you what appliance to use. No wind farms off our Jersey shore!” (RELATED: Dear President Trump, Please Make Carbon Capture Go Away)

“Jack! Jack! Jack!” the crowd roared.

Ciattarelli’s vision is driving Republicans to the polls. No surprise there. However, Jersey boys and girls are crossing the aisle to stand with Jack and the GOP.

“Today I picked up the 15th endorsement from another prominent Democrat,” Ciattarelli announced. “And when Democrats are endorsing the Republican nominee, it tells you how badly people want change all across this state.”

Democrats who back Jack include Dover Mayor Jim Dodd, Branchville Mayor Anthony Frato, Garfield Mayor Everett Garnto Jr., North Bergen Commissioner Allen Pascual, and North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, among 10 others. Garnto left the Democrat Party after embracing Ciattarelli.

Branchville Councilman Jeff Lewis joined Team Jack after Democrat nominee for governor, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, left him cold. “She hasn’t done anything to enthuse me,” Lewis said Wednesday on Fox News’ America Reports. “All she keeps running with her commercials is the fact she’s a helicopter pilot and a mom of four.”

Sherrill also masquerades as a moderate, even though her U.S. House record begs to differ. Her lifetime CPAC rating confirms that she voted with conservatives 6 percent of the time. In 2022, her Rightward votes fell in half, to a microscopic 3 percent.

Returning to Raritan, Ciattarelli sounded nostalgic.

“In 1967, we moved about 200 yards from here,” Ciattarelli said. He pointed just down the road from the platform on which he spoke — without notes and into a handheld microphone. “I grew up on these streets,” he remembered. “It’s great to be home.”

Ciattarelli has spent plenty of time away, crisscrossing his state and visiting “564 towns, 21 counties, and 600 diners,” he said. “I’ve eaten 16 times today!” His voice, like a pony, is a little hoarse.

New Jersey’s GOP standard-bearer asked his crowd for one last sprint towards, and he hoped, first across the finish line.

“This is the last rally. This is the last get-together before we go home and make our calls and texts to get people out to vote,” Ciattarelli urged his fans forward. “Championship teams finish strong. It’s time to win. It’s time to change New Jersey. Let’s go!”