Sometimes, in order to make the seemingly impossible happen, you have to keep at the daily grind, no matter how grueling, no matter how maddeningly repetitive, and no matter how thankless it might feel – and sometimes with little or nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
Keeping at the daily campaign grind is exactly what former New Jersey State Rep. Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP nominee in the Garden State’s gubernatorial race, has done in his second attempt at winning the seat. And coming down the home stretch, his persistence is paying off.
If you look at a running list of polls in his battle against Democrat opponent, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Ciattarelli has closed the polling gap with Sherrill and is now running neck and neck after at one point being down by as much as 20 points in a June Rutgers poll.
According to @RCPolitics polling averages, Ciattarelli has closed the gap in the #NJGov race. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/Wh0u2T4wHw
— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) October 30, 2025
SEE ALSO: New Polling in the NJ Governor’s Race Shows Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill in a Dead Heat
Yes, ladies and gents, we have ourselves a horse race, and one that has the potential to have a photo finish after November 4th:
🚨BREAKING:
Polling shows a VERY close race for #NJGov.
I’ll be live all morning on @PIX11News breaking down both our new exclusive polls.
MORE:https://t.co/rWj7v7hFK3 pic.twitter.com/khiAiWI63T— Henry Rosoff (@HenryRosoff) October 30, 2025
Four years ago, this is how the race was shaking out when Ciattarelli challenged Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy:
Four years ago, Emerson had Murphy +6 over Ciattarelli, who only lost by 2.8. And now… https://t.co/8CRjBl9z60
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) October 30, 2025
As to the catalyst for Ciattarelli’s rise, in addition to his staying focused and formidable, as well as Sherrill’s military cheating scandal, Sherrill has not exactly come across as a top-tier candidate, as RedState columnist Adam Turner has previously explained. Here are just a few of the numerous examples why:
- Sherrill couldn’t answer an easy lay-up question from a media interviewer for a disturbingly long amount of time, which made her look vacuous and was turned into an attack ad.
- Sherrill appeared on a left-wing show where she was unable to give a good explanation as to how she made millions of dollars in stocks as a sitting member of Congress. Which is a question she should have been prepared for. This was with a friendly interviewer, mind you.
- Sherrill released a nasty, tone deaf statement regarding her vote on the Charlie Kirk resolution. This attempt to split the difference by voting to honor Kirk and then disparaging him in a statement made no sense, as it looks political and will not gain her any votes.
- Sherrill likely used her influence to get her twins appointed to the Naval Academy, despite her plan to seek higher office and knowing how terrible that would look if/when it came out.
- Sherrill pushed for LGBT education in the schools and (seemingly) said parents shouldn’t be able to opt out. She should have noticed that former Governor Terry McAuliffe lost his comeback bid in Virginia after making a similar statement.
Sherrill’s stumbles on the campaign trail and her showing as what some, including Turner, have called a “political lightweight” also likely were contributing factors in receiving some key endorsements in the gubernatorial race, including one from a labor union that backed Murphy in 2021, as well as some from Democrat mayors who decided to cross party lines.
DIVE DEEPER: The Fundamentals Favor the GOP in the New Jersey Governor’s Race
In late September, Sherrill tried to make a national scandal out of news that “a mostly unredacted version” of her military records had been released by the National Archives to someone who reportedly was a Ciattarelli ally. But the Archives blamed it on a “technician’s mistake.” Further, CBS News also obtained the military records after a request to the National Archives.
Relatedly, politics and the culture seen in states like New Jersey and New York is a lot more rough and tumble than you typically find in other states. So it’s probable that the “scandal” didn’t move the needle much, if any, in favor of Sherrill among voters, many of whom have seen and heard it all and then some about candidates in political races in past election cycles.
It’s anybody’s guess as to how this race ultimately plays out, but Ciattarelli has got to be feeling cautiously optimistic at this point. We will, of course, bring you the results and all the commentary and hot takes that come with it, on November 4th.
Let’s go!
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