Donald Trump takes sides in New Jersey's GOP primary for governor
President Donald Trump is backing Republican Jack Ciattarelli for New Jersey governor, a long-awaited move that could put him on a clearer path to being the party nominee this June.
'Jack Ciattarelli is a terrific America First Candidate running to be the next Governor of a State that I love, NEW JERSEY!' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday, with less than a month to go until the primary.
Trump has loomed large over the primary races to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy this year. Democratic candidates have been trying to assert who is the most effective choice to stand up to the Trump administration, while Republicans — particularly Ciattarelli and former radio host Bill Spadea — have been duking it out over who is more aligned with the president. And as one of only two gubernatorial races this year, the election will be seen as a bellwether ahead of the midterms.
This is Ciattarelli's third gubernatorial bid. The former state Assemblymember was the GOP's nominee in 2021, and came unexpectedly close to unseating Murphy. While Ciatarelli has benefitted from high name ID due to those past runs, his opponents have argued that the party needs a new nominee this year.
Ciattarelli's 2025 campaign has so far differed from his 2021 primary run, when he was one of the only Republican candidates not attempting to tie himself to Trump. Ciattarelli had previously criticized the president, calling him a 'charlatan' in 2015 and urging him to end his presidential bid in 2016 (Ciattarelli ran the first time in 2017). Ciattarelli has since waved off those past comments — but that hasn't stopped his opponents from referring to him as a 'Republican in name only' and 'never-Trumper.'
Trump acknowledged Ciattarelli's stance in his endorsement: 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!).'
The Republican primary has so far been a messy battle between Ciattarelli and Spadea — who is seen as his most significant competitor and is well-known from his time on the radio as an outspoken conservative, pro-Trump commentator — as they fight over who is the most Trump-like. Spadea and his allies have repeatedly criticized Ciattarelli for his past comments about Trump. Ciattarelli has thrown those attacks right back at Spadea, pointing to the radio host's own comments in 2021 saying he did not want Trump to run again. Both candidates have prominently invoked the president in their outreach to voters — in many cases giving the impression they have Trump's backing, prior to his official endorsement.
Trump standing with Ciattarelli will likely quiet down that debate.
At a Republican debate last week, Spadea would not commit to supporting Ciattarelli if he won the primary. 'Jack did not want my help and rejected President Trump's help in 2021,' he told reporters.
Trump is popular among Republicans in the state, and made notable gains among the electorate in November, giving Ciattarelli a perceived leg up in the primary. It's unclear how his endorsement could play in the general election, where the Democratic nominee is certain to use it as fodder for attacks in the typically blue-leaning state.
The president's backing has not always been foolproof in the Garden State. In last year's race for Senate, Trump endorsed then-Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who lost in the primary to businessperson Curtis Bashaw. But the dynamics are different this year without the so-called county line, which gave party-backed candidates a better spot on the ballot; last year, Bashaw had more county lines than Serrano Glassner.
Ciattarelli was the only Republican candidate to compete in county conventions this year, and won most of them by default. Spadea mostly eschewed the conventions, saying he wanted to bring his campaign directly to voters — with the exception of Ocean County, where he was previously endorsed by the party chair and won. Those county endorsements are expected to have less of an impact in this year's primary.
It was unclear if Trump was going to engage in the New Jersey gubernatorial election. Given that both Ciattarelli and Spadea had made negative comments about the president in the past, it was uncertain who he would endorse, if it all. (Trump went on Spadea's radio show last year and praised him, saying that he's 'had my back from the beginning.') Before he backed Ciattarelli, Trump weighed in on 2026 races.
But the chances of him endorsing appeared more likely in late March, when both Ciattarelli and Spadea met with Trump — separately — at his Bedminster golf club.
A handful of Trump allies have been involved in the race on both sides, like former adviser Kellyanne Conway running a super PAC boosting Ciattarelli and former campaign manager Bill Stepien serving as a consultant on Spadea's campaign. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, another MAGA loyalist, endorsed Spadea, while some of Trump's previous co-chairs in the state backed Ciattarelli.
Other Republicans running for the GOP nod include state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who is a vocal Trump critic, as well as lesser-known candidates former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and Justin Barbera, a contractor. Kranjac has also sought to label himself as the most ardent pro-Trump candidate in the primary, though he entered the race much later than Ciattarelli and Spadea.
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