Jack Ciattarelli Makes Closing Argument for a ‘Jersey Guy’ as Governor of the Garden State

New Jersey’s Republican candidate for governor, Jack Ciattarelli, is taking his closing argument to all “564 towns” and “600 diners” across the Garden State. Proclaiming that he feels the “wind at our back” not — as in his narrow loss four years ago — “in our face,” the former assemblyman is aiming to make his second chance count.“It’s Time” is Mr. Ciattarelli’s slogan, and on a rainy Saturday at Montvale along New Jersey’s northeastern border, he demonstrated confidence that his hour had arrived. “The energy across the state has been electric,” he told the crowd outside the Hearth & Tap restaurant, foreshadowing his proposal to reverse record-high utility bills.Mr. Ciattarelli delivered a tight, 20-minute speech. His late arrival resulted in a hopeful omen for his about 300 supporters when the clouds parted and sun peeked through as the candidate launched into his remarks. He apologized for being held up at an NAACP forum, saying that if elected he’d “keep the trains on time.”President Trump endorsed Mr. Ciattarelli, and they share a free-wheeling, improvisational style. In an era where voters see packaged politicians broadcast 24/7, canned remarks on the hustings are no longer the best path to victory, however much consultants prefer to play it safe.Embracing this new normal may prove key to Mr. Ciattarelli’s chances in New Jersey, where any Republican is an underdog and generic Republicans are doomed. The candidate noted that since his 2021 run, “there’s 100,000 fewer Democrats and 200,000 more registered Republicans” statewide but stressed the need to grow beyond his base.“We’re still the minority party,” Mr. Ciattarelli said after touting recent endorsements from Democratic officeholders. “Tell people what’s at stake,” he said, and “don’t ever underestimate the power of the personal testimonial” in motivating “friends” to vote.Mr. Ciattarelli made a point of calling out tired rhetoric. “You’re never,” he said, “going to hear me say that this is the most important election of our lifetime. … I believe that every election is equally important for different reasons,” but the state’s “future hangs in the balance” this time.“How about,” Mr. Ciattarelli asked, touting 100 years of local roots, “we elect the Jersey guy?” He judged his Virginia-born opponent, Congresswoman Rebecca “Mikie” Sherrill, is “not a Jersey Girl,” but “Murphy 2.0,” referring to the incumbent Democrat, Governor Philip Murphy, who was less popular than Mr. Trump in last month’s Emerson College poll.While he drew contrasts with Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Ciattarelli also welcomed Democratic and non-affiliated voters in the crowd. Here, where the old playbook might call for heavy helpings of partisan red meat, he refrained. “We’re not going to just tell New Jersey who she is,” he said, “we’re going to tell people what we’re going to do.”Mr. Ciattarelli’s biggest applause line at rallies, one staffer told the Sun, is reversing Mr. Murphy’s ban on plastic bags in supermarkets. The line drew cheers again on Sunday. “I can say,” the candidate remarked, “I’m gonna lower taxes and I get a nice round of applause.” Legalizing bags “brings down the house every single time.”Challenging New York City’s congestion pricing on commuters drew applause, too. Mr. Ciattarelli said that if Gotham persisted in the toll, he would “hit” any vehicle with New York plates crossing bridges or tunnels west with a retaliatory charge. “We are not going to be pushed around.”The lone nit that this columnist would pick was Mr. Ciattarelli’s remark on the next governor appointing a new associate and chief justice to the state supreme court. “I’m not appointing anybody,” he said, “who doesn’t agree with us on these issues.” Choosing judges who’ll apply the law as written is the constitutional tack.“Unlike governors on both sides of the aisle in the last 40 years,” Mr. Ciattarelli said, he isn’t eying a future job at Washington D.C. He doesn’t want to “write a book,” either, just “right the ship.” On Saturday, his supporters felt the wind at their backs and saw the clouds lifting. In 24 days, they’ll have a second chance to make the Jersey Guy their captain.

Jack Ciattarelli Makes Closing Argument for a ‘Jersey Guy’ as Governor of the Garden State

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