NEWARK, New Jersey — On a chilly Election Day Eve, both Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli traveled back to their hometowns in New Jersey to hold one last rally for supporters ahead of a competitive gubernatorial election on Tuesday.
Sherrill and Ciattarelli both held several events throughout Monday and capped the day with outdoor evening rallies, the Democrat in Montclair and the Republican in Raritan. Both candidates stressed the importance of supporters going to the polls if they haven’t yet voted in the 2025 election, which is the most contested off-year race.
“Make sure your neighbors and your frenemies get out to vote,” Sherrill said standing behind her tour bus. “These conversations are important, and today’s your last day to have them.”
“If you come across people who aren’t thinking about voting, get them to vote, okay? We can win this race, but we got to turn it out. So I’m going to do my part, you do your part, let’s get this done,” Ciattarelli said in a park in Raritan roughly 40 miles away.
The last-ditch efforts to rally voters come as recent polling shows Tuesday’s election is truly anybody’s race. Both candidates have traveled throughout the state since the June primaries.
Both Ciattarelli and Sherrill have done a considerable amount of mudslinging since the start of the general election season. Sherrill has worked to portray the Republican as a Trump-first, New Jersey-second candidate, while Ciattarelli argued that the congresswoman “is no Jersey girl,” a reference to her work in Washington and her birthplace in Virginia.
Ciattarelli says it’s obvious New Jersey ‘wants change’
Ciattarelli spoke to the Washington Examiner before heading into his second of three events to wrap up his campaign tour on Monday night.
Outside of Kelly’s Tavern in Neptune City, he said he was feeling “great” and repeated that the energy surrounding his campaign was “electric.” He noted considerable endorsements from Democrats in the state, as well as positive receptions from majority-minority communities that have historically voted blue.
How has he connected with Democrats and centrists in ways Republicans haven’t in the past?
“You have to go places other Republicans don’t or won’t,” he said. “I always have.”
He said he plans to address the affordability crisis “on day one,” as well as reduce the “bloated, inefficient” state government so he can tackle high taxes.
The Sherrill campaign has accused Ciattarelli of wanting to raise the sales tax. But Ciattarelli told the Washington Examiner she’s “lying, and they know it.”
“I said it clearly, we’re not raising any taxes,” the Republican said.
During the first debate, Sherrill gave an honest but potentially political damaging answer when asked about her plan to raise the sales tax: “I’m not going to commit to anything right now, because I’m not just going to tell you what you want to hear.” Less than 24 hours later, her campaign released a statement committing not to increase the sales tax.
Ciattarelli said he has a “specific” plan to lower taxes, previously stating that he will restructure the tax bracket, cap property taxes by linking them to a percentage of a home’s assessed value, and slash the state’s corporate business tax over six years. If elected governor, he’s also pledged to bann offshore wind farms, something the outgoing Murphy administration has pushed for.
After speaking with the Washington Examiner, Ciattarelli headed into Kelly’s Tavern. The restaraunt was packed with people lining up outside the door trying to get in. During performances of the National Anthem and “God Bless the USA,” supporters were pressing their faces to the covered windows to try and get a glimpse of the Republican candidate.
Nearly 52 miles away, Ciattarelli traveled to Raritan, where he spoke to his hometown supporters and promised that he wouldn’t get “distracted” and aim for a different job after becoming governor.
“This isn’t a vanity tour, okay? This isn’t about me going to Washington, DC. I don’t want to be congressman, I don’t want to be senator, I don’t want to be president, I don’t want to write a book,” Ciattarelli said at the Raritan rally. “I just want to right the ship.”
He spent much of his time at the rally in his hometown putting down Sherrill, saying that while she says she can run a helicopter, “it’s evident she doesn’t have a clue on how to run the state of New Jersey.”
“There’s nothing she won’t blame on the president. If you get a flat tire on the way home tonight, it’s President Trump’s fault,” Ciattarelli said to laughs.
Former President Barack Obama used a similar analogy on Saturday, saying that the GOP blames everything on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Got a flat tire? Must be DEI,” he said.
The Republican noted that he wants to make sure current and future generations “feel confident” in New Jersey.
“You’ll never hear me say this is the most important election of our lifetime. I think every election is equally important for different reasons, but I will say this: the future of our state hangs in the balance. Within two months, I will have been here 64 years. I don’t ever remember it ever being this bad. I don’t ever remember it being this hard.”
Sherrill says her heart is ‘full’ heading into Election Day
Sherrill gave her supporters a heartfelt thanks during her final stop in Montclair. Speaking for just seven minutes at the rally, she said she’s been “incredibly impressed” with how the community has turned out for her.
“My heart is full because we know who we’re fighting for,” the congresswoman said. “We’re fighting for our families, we’re fighting for our kids, we’re fighting for opportunity.”
Though her remarks were short, she was joined by a special guest: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who spoke at a rally with former President Barack Obama on Saturday.
Booker said New Jersey will be the “first state that’s going to stand up” to Donald Trump and his policies.
“For the first time in the 10 months he’s been in office, one state has a chance to answer him,” the senator said, “and that answer is going to be Jersey, baby.”
She pointed to New Jersey standing at the “crossroads of democracy,” noting that the state was the first to pass a state civil rights act and that it passed unanimously.
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The congresswoman notably did not address Ciattarelli in her closing rally speech, instead insisting that New Jersey is “not a red state” and “not a purple state.”
“New Jersey is a blue state, and so New Jersey, when we vote, we win,” Sherrill said.
Booker said Ciattarelli is “100% wrong for New Jersey.”
“Why would this man come up in our state and say, ‘I’m running for governor and I’m 100% MAGA? I can’t believe that,” he said.
“This is one of those elections where we have a chance to elect an extraordinary woman who has always been taking things to a higher level as a helicopter pilot herself.”
