New Jersey gubernatorial hopefuls dig up past scandals, spar over shutdown in icy final debate

Published October 8, 2025 11:24pm ET



In the final debate of New Jersey’s gubernatorial race on Wednesday, Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill traded blows multiple times over the latter’s involvement in a decades-old cheating scandal at the Naval Academy and the current state of the government shutdown.

The race is seen as highly competitive as the two vie for votes in the final weeks until Election Day.

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