Ciattarelli Recruits Running Mate To Take On Gov. Murphy

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Republican Jack Ciattarelli intends to name former State Sen. Diane Allen as his running mate in the fall election for New Jersey Governor, according to several reports.

The Moorestown Republican Party announced in an email Monday afternoon that Ciattarelli will name Allen as his running mate, as Ciattarelli will attempt to unseat Gov. Phil Murphy in the Nov. 2 general election. Allen would run for Deputy Governor against incumbent Democrat Sheila Oliver.

The pair is scheduled to appear during a rally at the Burlington County Agricultural Center in Moorestown on Wednesday morning. Per NJ.com, Allen has been involved in the Ciattarelli campaign since February 2020, when the Republican candidate selected her to oversee responses to any allegations of discrimination and harassment.

“While I’m extremely excited and ready to get going, I think I want to wait until those events to say more,” Allen told the publication on Monday.

Allen graduated from Moorestown High School as the valedictorian in 1966 and served in the state legislature for 22 years. She was the Moorestown Republican Party’s first Lincoln Award winner in 2019.

The candidate began her career in politics as a Statehouse reporter in the 1970s for New Jersey Network, going on to serve as a news anchor for NBC, ABC and CBS affiliate stations. Her life in news came to an abrupt end when she filed a discrimination suit against CBS in 1994, alleging gender and age discrimination in the workplace.

In fact, the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act was signed by Murphy in 2018. The legislation aimed to champion pay equity and protect employees from discrimination. Per the Burlington County Times, Murphy commented that the legislation "cements [Allen's] legacy as a lawmaker who worked across the aisle to do the right things for our state."

Allen was elected to the state Senate in 1997, and began her first term in 1998. She was a Republican Conference Leader in 2003, and was Deputy Minority Leader when she retired due to health reasons in 2018. Read more here: State Sen. Diane Allen Makes Decision On Political Future

When she was honored during a ceremony in Cinnaminson in 2017, she noted legislation she pioneered nearly 20 years prior that authorized a $5 million economic development grant for the county to provide loans to companies who are on the verge of closing up shop or relocating their business.

She is also a former Miss Burlington County, and she won a national hang-gliding championship in 1973, according to the New Jersey Globe.

Election Day is Nov. 2.