Ciattarelli narrows gap with Sherrill in New Jersey governor race

With the November election just 15 days away, he is the Republican nominee in one of the only elections in the country Two races for governor This year he feels confident.

“The energy across the state is electric. The reception in minority communities has been amazing, and having been endorsed by prominent Democrats, that tells you everything you need to know in terms of the desire of the people of New Jersey for change. And that’s what this election is about. It’s a lot of fun,” Jack Ciattarelli said this weekend in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”

Ciattarelli, who is making his third straight run for governor of the Garden State and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, has good reason to be optimistic he can pull off a victory in blue-leaning New Jersey.

In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, three public opinion polls released last week — from Fox News, Quinnipiac University and Fairleigh Dickinson University — suggest Ciattarelli is closing the gap with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mickey Sherrill in the race to succeed term-limited Murphy.

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Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks to supporters at a restaurant in Saddle Brook, New Jersey on October 15, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

the Fox News poll Conducted from October 10 to 14, Sherrill received 50% support among likely voters, while Ciattarelli received 45%. Sherrill’s lead is down 5 points from his 8-point lead in the September Fox News poll in New Jersey.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only states that hold gubernatorial contests in the year following a presidential election, and the contests typically attract significant attention and are seen as political barometers ahead of the following year’s midterm elections.

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This year, they are being viewed, in part, as down-ballot referendums on the president Donald Trump The agenda of the second term is unprecedented and combustible.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are highly competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five of the past 10 elections.

President Donald Trump, seen speaking during a campaign rally at Wildwood Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, on May 11, 2024, will chair a rally by call for Jack Ciattarelli, the 2025 Republican candidate for governor of the Garden State. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump made big gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by just six percentage points, a significant improvement over his 16-point deficit four years ago.

ciattarelli, The interview was conducted by Fox News Digital He noted last week in Bayonne, New Jersey, that he had “made significant gains” in his 2021 bid “in Hudson County and Passaic County,” two longtime Democratic strongholds.

“The president did very well in ’24 in those same counties. And if you take a look at who was supporting me, including some prominent Democrats here in Hudson County, people want change,” Ciattarelli asserted.

But Ciattarelli also aims to energize the Republican voter base in what will likely be a low-turnout election.

Multiple sources have confirmed to Fox News that Trump will hold a rally by phone with Chiattarelli before Election Day. Trump’s collaboration with Chiattarelli may help energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low-propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy headlines a campaign event for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, on October 15, 2025, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

And last week, he joined Ciattarelli at a crowded dinner stop in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, Vivek Ramaswamya MAGA rock star who is running for governor next in his home state of Ohio.

Ramaswamy, a millionaire biotech entrepreneur and conservative commentator who pushed an “America First 2.0” platform while running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before ending his bid and becoming one of Trump’s top supporters and surrogates, said: Fox News Digital A win for Ciattarelli this year would “set the table for bigger and more decisive victories, hopefully in places like Ohio next year.”

ONLY ON FOX: Ramaswamy says 2025 GOP victories would ‘set the table’ for even bigger victories in 2026

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, commenting on why Republicans are optimistic about the showdown in New Jersey, raised concerns.

“New Jersey is probably the best place for Donald Trump to stop the Democratic momentum — or at least diminish the Democratic momentum that we’ve seen throughout this year,” Martin said in a speech. Political interview.

But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) expects Sherrill to win within two weeks.

“While many polls show her with a solid lead with more than 50% of the vote, Mikie Sherrill is stepping up to meet the moment in this incredibly competitive race,” DGA spokesman Azi Levy told Fox News. “It is clear that Mikey has momentum, and New Jersey voters are united to reject Ciattarelli for a third time next November.”

Sherrill had plenty of company on the campaign trail this weekend from key Democratic Party representatives, including two of the party’s biggest names — the governors. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mickey of New Jersey, left, campaigns with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, in Newark, New Jersey, on October 19, 2025. (Mickey Sherrill campaign)

“From Maryland to New Jersey, we are united in one goal – making sure every voice is heard at the ballot box,” Moore wrote on social media. “Proud to stand with @MikieSherrill and members of the Newark Get Out the Vote community. Let’s finish strong this November!”

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Sherrill and starred in a new ad for the party’s nominee.

Ciattarelli welcomes Trump’s help in final stretch of battle for governor of New Jersey

While Trump is not on the ballot, he looms large over New Jersey’s gubernatorial election.

In the second and final debate two weeks ago, Sherrill accused her GOP rival of “showing no signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself has described Jack as 100% MAGA, and he has shown every sign of being one.”

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mickey Sherrill, right, and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, pose on stage moments at the start of their second and final debate, on October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

Asked if he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was “part of the New Jersey movement.”

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When asked to rate the president’s performance so far during his second term, Chiattarelli said, “I would definitely give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything he does.”

“I think this tells us everything we need to know about who supports Jack Ciattarelli. I give him an F right now,” Cheryl replied, noting the high cost of living in New Jersey.

Rep. Mickey Sherrill, Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, takes questions from reporters after a debate on October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

The race in New Jersey was rocked two weeks ago by a report that the National Personnel Records Center, a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, had mistakenly released Cheryl’s inappropriately redacted military personnel files, which included private information such as her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally.

But Cheryl’s military records indicated that the US Naval Academy barred her from participating in its 1994 graduation ceremony amid a cheating scandal.

The standoff was rocked again two weeks ago by Sherrill’s allegations that Ciattarelli was “complicit” with drug companies in the opioid deaths of tens of thousands of New Jersey residents, as she pointed to his medical publishing company pushing content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain.

Last week, Trump launched a political hand grenade into the race, “holding up” billions of federal dollars for the Gateway Project, which funds a new train tunnel under the Hudson River linking New Jersey and New York.

Sherrill, who held a news conference Thursday at a major rail station a few miles from the tunnel site in one of the nation’s busiest train corridors, called the project “important” as she took aim at Trump and Ciattarelli.

“I’m fighting for the people of New Jersey. He’s fighting to vindicate Trump. This is unacceptable,” Sherrill said.

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New Jersey traditionally elects a governor from the party outside of power in the White House, which favors Democrats this year.

But Garden State voters have not elected a governor from the same party in three consecutive elections in more than half a century, which would favor Republicans.

One of these political trends will be checked in next month’s elections.