New Jersey’s gubernatorial race just turned into a full-on verbal cage match! In a fiery showdown, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli traded sharp jabs during their second and final debate in New Brunswick, N.J., on Wednesday, with Election Day looming less than a month away.
Fox News reported that this contest to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has grown increasingly bitter, drawing national eyes as a key test of political winds in the post-presidential election year.
As one of only two states holding gubernatorial races this year alongside Virginia, New Jersey’s outcome is seen as a critical gauge of President Donald Trump’s influence and second-term agenda.
Sherrill has become especially nasty, accusing Ciattarelli of profiting off the opioid crisis through his past business ties to pharmaceutical training materials.
Ciattarelli fired back hard, pointing to a fine Sherrill paid four years ago for late disclosure of stock trades, claiming it shows a disregard for federal ethics rules.
Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and CPA who founded a medical publishing company, has Trump’s endorsement, which propelled him to the GOP nomination earlier this year.
“In times of need, it’s best to have a relationship with whoever occupies the White House, and I will,” Ciattarelli said during the debate. Well, that’s a pragmatic take, but it sure ties him tightly to a polarizing figure—something Democrats are eager to exploit in a state that often leans blue in federal races.
Sherrill wasn’t buying it, painting her opponent as a loyalist unable to challenge the administration’s agenda when it might hurt New Jerseyans.
“You’re trying to divert from the fact you killed tens of thousands of people by printing your misinformation, your propaganda,” Sherrill charged, referencing Ciattarelli’s company’s past promotion of opioids as low-risk for chronic pain.
That’s a heavy accusation, and while it’s tied to content his firm published before he sold it in 2017, it’s a stain that sticks in voters’ minds.
Ciattarelli also pressed Sherrill on a murky chapter from her Naval Academy days, citing a report from two weeks before the debate that she was barred from her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal.
Despite graduating and serving as a helicopter pilot, Sherrill’s refusal to release full military records—and a messy incident involving improperly released personal data by the National Archives—has fueled GOP demands for transparency.
Sherrill’s campaign has gone on the offensive, issuing cease-and-desist letters to Ciattarelli’s team and others over the records leak, even launching a digital ad claiming they broke the law to smear a veteran.
Meanwhile, Ciattarelli, making his third run for governor after nearly toppling Murphy in 2021, remains a formidable contender—Republicans have won half of the last ten gubernatorial races in the state, proving they can compete despite Democratic dominance elsewhere.
With history showing the White House winner’s party often loses these off-year races, and Democrats aiming for a rare third straight win, the stakes couldn’t be higher for both sides.
