Ciattarelli, Sherrill race in NJ tight as Trump looms over gubernatorial bid

New Jersey's gubernatorial race remains tightly contested as Republican Jack Ciattarelli seeks to flip the Democratic-leaning state, a contest that is drawing national attention as President Donald Trump looms over the campaign despite not being on the ballot. The race is one of two statewide gubernatorial contests this November, the other in Virginia, and is viewed as an early barometer of the president's popularity and agenda ahead of next year's midterm elections.

Ciattarelli has framed the contest as a test of whether New Jersey voters will align with a national push tied to Trump’s policy priorities. In a Fox News Digital interview conducted amid his Fort Lee outreach, he argued that his Democratic opponent, Mikie Sherrill, would use Trump as a cudgel and link the race to the White House on a wide range of issues. He downplayed the idea that Trump is the dominant issue in the race, saying the campaign will focus on state matters such as property taxes, public safety, and energy costs. Sherrill countered that Ciattarelli would go in lockstep with Washington if elected and that such alignment would drive up energy costs for families.

The two candidates sparred publicly in Danvers-style terms at the first general-election debate, held in Lawrenceville on Sept. 21, 2025, with Sherrill portraying Ciattarelli as a nationalized candidate who would bring Republican policies to Trenton. Ciattarelli defended his approach, arguing that New Jersey faces a set of state-specific challenges that require homegrown solutions and that Trump’s influence is real but not the sole driver of the race.

Sherrill, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former helicopter pilot who later served as a federal prosecutor before winning election to Congress in 2018, has emphasized affordability and cost-of-living concerns. At the outset of the debate she outlined a plan to declare a state of emergency on day one if elected, with a focus on freezing rate hikes and increasing government transparency to help families save time and money. Ciattarelli responded by pointing to a long-running history of Democratic control in the state—citing the Legislature as well as a succession of Democratic governors over the past several decades—and argued that the current fiscal and public-safety challenges stem from those policies.

During campaign stops, Ciattarelli has highlighted a broad set of state issues, insisting that the president’s agenda is not responsible for New Jersey’s tax burden, energy costs, or crime trends. He has insisted that his campaign is focused on local remedies, promising to travel across four counties each day to meet voters and press the case for reforms in property taxes, crime prevention, and schools. He has also noted his willingness to engage with federal authorities and to deploy presidential help where appropriate, saying that the White House has offered to assist in ways that a governor can utilize for the state’s benefit. He has said he intends to earn the victory on the trail in the final weeks before Election Day.

On the Democratic side, Sherrill has framed the race as a referendum on the incumbent approach to governing New Jersey, appealing to voters’ concerns about rising costs and reliability of services. She has argued that Republicans would pursue nationalized policies that would deepen energy costs and undermine measures aimed at stabilizing rates for families. Her campaign has already leaned into inflation concerns, repeatedly tying Ciattarelli to the broader Democratic leadership in Trenton and to the president’s agenda. The closing segment of the debates featured Sherrill asserting that her plan would deliver relief to households, while Ciattarelli pressed his case for state-centered reforms and accountability in government.

Polls circulating in September indicated a competitive race, reflecting New Jersey’s complex political dynamics where presidential results have skewed blue in recent years but where Republican gains have tightened the margin in the midterm environment. Ciattarelli has maintained a relentless schedule on the campaign trail, saying the effort requires constant engagement across communities and a readiness to respond to voters’ concerns about property taxes, cost of living, and public safety. He has argued that the Democrats’ long tenure in the state’s government has contributed to the current conditions and vowed to chart a different course should voters entrust him with the governorship.

In the broader political context, the New Jersey race is widely viewed as an early test of the president’s popularity and the effectiveness of his policy agenda in a state that has historically leaned Democratic in presidential elections. Trump has publicly praised Ciattarelli and signaled support, but he has not accompanied the candidate on a joint campaign event to date. Ciattarelli has said he would welcome White House involvement if it serves the campaign, while stressing that the final six weeks will require a focused, ground-level effort to persuade voters.

The outcome of the campaign will be watched as a gauge of whether Trump’s political imprint can translate into gains in a state with a long history of Democratic control. The race is also analyzed as an indicator of how inflation, energy policy, taxation, and crime will shape voters’ preferences in the 2026 midterms and beyond. With the election looming, both Ciattarelli and Sherrill have pledged to press their case through late September and into November, hoping to translate surging costs and public safety concerns into support at the polls.