New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, offered an aggressive plan for how he would begin to take back New Jersey on day 1, reforming the state that he said has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement under Democratic rule.
He said his first move would be to ensure the state complies with federal immigration laws.
“Executive order No. 1 on day 1: No town in this state will be a sanctuary city, and we’ll not be a sanctuary state,” he said.
He said he would seek to reverse many of the failed policies ushered in by Gov. Phil Murphy, a two-term leader who narrowly defeated Mr. Ciattarelli in the 2021 gubernatorial race.
“Many of the things that Murphy has done are by executive order. They weren’t codified by the Legislature, which means I can reverse them on day 1,” Mr. Ciattarelli said.
“But having sanctuary cities and us being a sanctuary state encourages illegal immigration, and it handcuffs our local police in certain ways,” he added. “We’re not doing that. I’m going to reverse that on day 1.”
Mr. Ciattarelli, who according to several polls is in a dead heat with his Democratic opponent, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, sat down Thursday with Fox News host Sean Hannity for his final long-form interview before Tuesday’s election.
Chris Russell, a spokesman for Ciattarelli’s campaign, told The Washington Times on Wednesday that the candidate was eager to use the hourlong prime-time slot to help get out the vote and close the deal.
“It’s obviously an opportunity to talk to voters directly and to continue to boost enthusiasm for the campaign. … And the kind of format where Jack gets to talk long form about issues and talk about things in a way that is detailed and substantive, it’s really where he shines,” Mr. Russell said.
With early voting suggesting that Ms. Sherrill had a 2-to-1 advantage in already banked ballots, Mr. Ciattarelli hoped to make his pitch for an Election Day turnout that mirrored the enthusiasm his campaign has generated — including that of party-switching Democrats.
Despite losing in 2021 to Mr. Murphy by around 85,000 votes, or 3%, Mr. Ciattarelli said he beat the governor in in-person voting on Election Day by around 250,000.
This time, early indications suggest an even closer race.
“We’ve seen the greatest number of Republicans return vote-by-mail ballots. That’s a very, very good sign,” Mr. Ciatterelli said.
Although Ms. Sherrill maintains the lead in mail-in ballots, “we’re matching them voter for voter here in the six days — or five days — of early voting that we’ve had thus far. … Listen, if we go into Election Day within a certain number of points, we’re going to win this thing,” Mr. Ciatterelli added.
