Trump Endorses Republican Candidate In NJ Governor Race: Election 2025

NEW JERSEY — President Donald Trump has given his “complete and total endorsement” to Jack Ciattarelli in the race for New Jersey governor.

The president posted a message on social media Monday evening in support of the former state assemblyman, calling him a “terrific America First candidate” and urging people to “Make America great again – elect Jack Ciattarelli.”

Trump touted Ciattarelli’s efforts to “grow our economy” and “cut taxes and regulations,” also pointing to his stances on illegal immigration, “American energy dominance” and the Second Amendment.

“Also, Jack is the Republican candidate who is best positioned to stand tall against the radical left Democrats and, most importantly, ensure a big victory in this very important gubernatorial election,” Trump wrote.

Ciattarelli replied that he was “truly humbled and honored” to receive Trump’s endorsement.

“It’s time to unite our party, win big in November, and make New Jersey affordable and safe again,” he said.

Gov. Phil Murphy is term-limited and can’t run again in 2025. Over the past year, a large field of candidates have been jockeying for position to replace him, including Ciattarelli, who ran against Murphy in 2021.

Democratic and Republican candidates will face off for their party’s nomination in a primary election on June 10. The winners will advance to the general election on Nov. 4, which will also include any third-party or independent candidates.

The president’s endorsement gives Ciattarelli a significant talking point at a time when he’s already leading the race, polls show.

A recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll put Ciattarelli at the top of the pack in the Republican primary at 42 percent support. Former radio host Bill Spadea came in a distant second, with 12 percent. Four percent of Republicans said they prefer state Sen. Jon Bramnick, 3 percent chose Justin Barbera, and no one chose Mario Kranjac.

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were split as to whether an endorsement from Trump would make them more likely to vote for a Republican candidate (46%) or if it would have no effect on their vote (46%), pollsters reported, adding that 7 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for the endorsed candidate.

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Democrats still heavily outweigh Republicans in New Jersey, which has traditionally skewed blue on Election Day. But the GOP has been closing the gap since President Donald Trump took office in January.

According to data from the New Jersey Division of Elections, there are 2,449,526 registered Democrats in New Jersey and 1,621,669 Republicans as of May 1. The state also has 2,418,977 unaffiliated voters and 75,113 voters registered with a third-party.

Although nearly 6 percent more New Jersey voters cast presidential ballots for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Trump still tallied more than 1.96 million votes in the Garden State. Across the state, Republicans flipped five New Jersey counties from blue to red last year.

• See Related: Ineligible Voter Purge Planned In NJ, Trump-Appointed Official Says
• See Related: Republicans Gain On Democrats As New Jersey Primary Election Creeps Closer

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