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EXCLUSIVE — LINDEN, N.J. — With less than two weeks to go until Election Day in New Jersey, and the latest polls suggesting Jack Ciattarelli cutting the gap with Democratic rival Rep. Mikee Sherrill in one of only two races for governor this year across the country, the Republican nominee's confidence is high.
"Early voting starts this Saturday. We turn out, we win. Let's finish strong," Ciattarelli told supporters at a packed diner in this small city in north-central New Jersey.
Ciattarelli, aiming to pump up the Republican base as the polls tighten, was joined on the campaign trail Wednesday morning and afternoon at three diner stops by Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a top House ally of President Donald Trump.
"Jack's been running a great campaign. I've been watching it from down in the Sunshine State. But it's about winning. We got to help everybody get across the line," Donalds said in a joint Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital interview.
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Ciattarelli, who's making his third straight run for Garden State governor, and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, says things are different this time around.
"Because of the closeness of that race in '21, people are paying closer attention this time around," Ciattarelli said.
In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, four public opinion polls released over the past two weeks — from Fox News, Quinnipiac University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Rutgers-Eagleton — indicated Ciattarelli narrowing the margins with Sherrill in the race to succeed the term-limited Murphy.
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"I think we're in a great position," Ciattarelli emphasized. " As you know, many of these polls have a dead heat. And that's in a state in which Republicans typically under poll because we are the minority party. And when you have the endorsement of Democratic mayors across the state, it says people want change. That's exactly what we're going to deliver when we win this race."
Donalds, who has Trump's backing as he runs for Florida's governor next year, touted that in New Jersey, "the wind is at our back."
Asked why he made the trip, the congressman said, "It's about New Jersey and making sure that the people of the Garden State get out and vote. That's all that matters right now."
Donalds was the second major MAGA star to parachute into New Jersey. Last week, Ciattarelli was joined at a diner packed inside and outside with supporters by Ohio gubernatorial candidate and former White House contender Vivek Ramaswamy.
"A lot of Trump voters do not vote for anybody else, so getting guys out that they like will get them out to vote," former Rahway, N.J., GOP chairman Patrick Cassio told Fox News.
"Four years ago, 400,000 Republicans didn't vote. So, think about that. He picks up half of that, he wins. The math is pretty simple," Cassio said.
Democrats took aim at Ciattarelli for teaming up with MAGA surrogates.
"Jack Ciattarelli is ramping up his outreach to the furthest MAGA fringes, this time with Byron Donalds — who doesn’t think people need health insurance and wants a 6-week abortion ban. With two weeks to go until Election Day, Jack’s choice to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him tells you everything you need to know about why he couldn’t be more wrong for New Jersey," New Jersey Democratic State Committee spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki charged in a statement.
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential election, and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year's midterm elections.
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And this year, they're being viewed, in part, as ballot-box referendums on Trump's unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda.
While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections.
And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year's presidential election, losing the state by only six percentage points, a vast improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier.
While it's still not clear if Trump will physically hit the campaign trail in New Jersey sometime during the next two weeks, Fox News confirmed that the president will hold a tele-rally with Ciattarelli ahead of Election Day.
Asked if he wants Trump to join him in person on the campaign trail, Ciattarelli didn't directly answer.
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"The White House is working in close partnership with us, and what they've said is 'we'll do whatever it is that we think we can do to win.' The president is very busy. So he's got a lot going on. We're happy to work in partnership with the White House to deliver a win here," Ciattarelli said.
While Trump isn't on the ballot, he's loomed large over the New Jersey gubernatorial election.
At this month's second and final debate, Sherrill charged that her GOP rival had "shown zero signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he's shown every sign of being that."
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Asked whether he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was "part of a New Jersey movement."
When asked to grade the president's performance so far during his second term, Ciattarelli said, "I'd certainly give the president an A. I think he's right about everything that he's doing."
"I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli's supporting. I give him an F right now," Sherrill responded, as she pointed to New Jersey's high cost of living.
In the weeks since the final debate, Sherrill has highlighted that Ciattarelli gave Trump an A rating.
But Donalds argued that Sherrill's focus on linking Ciattarelli to Trump would backfire.
"I think that's a stupid strategy," Donalds said. "Let me tell you why. He secured the border. That's what the American people want, even people in New Jersey. He's done that. Our economy is sound and getting better every single day. That's what all Americans want."
Sherrill, a Naval Academy graduate who flew helicopters during her military service and who was first elected to Congress in 2018, is getting plenty of company on the campaign trail. This past weekend she was joined by two of the biggest names in the party — Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland — who are considered potential 2028 White House contenders. And former Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, two more potential presidential candidates, are on deck.
And Sherrill's campaign announced on Tuesday that the most popular Democrat in the country — former President Barack Obama — will headline a rally with her in Newark, N.J. on November 1, the final weekend before Election Day.
But Ciattarelli's campaign claimed that Obama's upcoming appearance on the New Jersey campaign trail is a sign of weakness for the Democrats.
"National and New Jersey Democrats are in full-blown panic. At this point, we expect them to import anyone they think can excite Democrats because Mikie Sherrill excites no one," Ciattarelli campaign chief strategist Chris Russell argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Tuesday that it's upping the ante, infusing more money into the New Jersey Democratic Coordinated Campaign, on top of the $3 million it's already dished out in the Garden State.
"This November will set the tone for years to come, and it’s our moment to show Donald Trump and the Republicans that their time in power is coming to an end," DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.
New Jersey traditionally elects a governor from the party out of power in the White House, which this year would favor the Democrats.
But Garden State voters haven't elected a governor from the same party in three straight elections in over a half century, which would favor the Republicans.
One of those political trends will be derailed in two weeks.
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