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Former state assemblyman Jack Ciatarelli came out against Democratic Governor Phil Murphy on Tuesday night, saying the man he wants to oust in November will be “the one and done in ’21” after winning the Republican primary over three contenders.
Within minutes of the race being called in his favour, Ciattarelli was behind a microphone taking pictures at Murphy, a Massachusetts native he described as oddly wealthy far from New Jersey.
“Fix the damned state,” Ciatarelli said at his victory ceremony in Somerset after winning the Republican Party to challenge Murphy in the November 2 general election.
“Here’s Phil Murphy’s problem: He didn’t grow up here, didn’t go to school here, didn’t own any business here. He’s someone else. I’m you,” said Ciattarelli, a lifelong Somerset County resident. “I mean, have you seen this guy eat pizza?”
“It’s not New Jersey,” he added. “And in January 2022, he wasn’t our governor.”
Sports. vacations. There was nothing forbidden on Tuesday night.
Ciattarelli criticized Murphy for his loyalty to his original New England team and for the 23-room mansion in Italy he bought in 2004 for $7.3 million.
“New Jersey is where I vacation, at LBI, while Phil Murphy rides to his villa in Italy. That’s where I bask for the Yankees, while Phil Murphy cheers for the Red Sox,” Ciattarelli said.
Meanwhile, Murphy declared victory minutes after polls closed as he went unchallenged in the primaries in his bid for a second term. While thanking his supporters in the videos and statements, Murphy didn’t bother mentioning his opponent by name.
“There are those who want to take us back to how things were — when New Jersey only worked for the rich and well-connected,” Murphy said. “We can’t go back.”
More: Live primary election results for New Jersey governor, Senate, assembly, counties, and municipalities
Ciattarelli may have won the Republican primaries, but two contenders who allied with former President Donald Trump and both ran under the “Make New Jersey Great Again” slogan received a total of 47% of the vote with 69% of the voting district counting. Just before 11 p.m
Phil Rizzo received 25.7% of the vote and Hirsh Singh received 21.7%. Together, they were within walking distance of 49.5% of Ciattarelli.
Unlike Murphy on election night, the Democratic Governors Association didn’t punch any punches.
“After a painful primary election filled with infighting and tests of Trump’s loyalty, Jack Ciattarelli was able to crawl into the general election,” DGA CEO Noam Lee said in a statement. Ciattarelli spent the primaries in fear trying to win the far right and is now heading into November as an extreme candidate far from New Jersey values.
In a speech Tuesday night, Murphy said Democrats “make decisions based on truth.”
“Look at the debates on the other side of the aisle in the Republican primaries,” the governor continued. “These people made decisions based on a set of lies, made out of myths, or put their fingers in the air to see which direction the political winds were blowing.”
Ciattarelli is also fighting an uphill battle to present himself to voters if he has any chance of ousting Murphy in November, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Tuesday.
More than half (52%) of registered voters do not know who Ciattarelli is, while 26% have no opinion. The survey also showed that 12% say they have a favorable view of Ciattarelli and 11% have an unfavorable opinion.
Among Republicans, 25% have a favorable view of Ciattarelli while 12% have an unfavorable opinion, and 41% do not know it.
Meanwhile, Murphy leads by 26 percentage points, with 52% of registered voters in the blue-leaning state favoring the incumbent Democratic Party and 26% choosing his opponent, according to the poll. Overall, when asked if they would vote for Murphy’s reelection, consider voting for someone else, or definitely voting for someone else, 42% said they would definitely choose Murphy, while 31% would go with another candidate, and 21% are on the fence.
But Ciattarelli said Tuesday night he’s up to the challenge.
“This campaign will not be easy,” he said. “It’s going to be tough. Really tough. And that’s good for me. … I’m here to fix New Jersey.”
Writer at NJ Advance Media, Brent Johnson, contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco can be reached at [email protected].
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