After a boost from Trump, Jack Ciattarelli pivots in the New Jersey governor's race

DOVER, N.J. — Republican Jack Ciattarelli won Tuesday’s primary for governor in New Jersey in part by touting President Donald Trump’s endorsement. But the former state legislator is now looking to make his campaign against Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill about a different executive.

Ciattarelli name-checked Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration five times in the course of a nearly 7-minute interview with NBC News at a Colombian bakery here on Wednesday. He only mentioned Trump’s name once, when prompted, and went on to call Sherrill “out of touch” with key state issues like affordability, education and immigration policies, suggesting she would be an extension of Murphy’s administration if she wins the governorship.

“This race is all about New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said. “My opponent is going to want to talk about Donald Trump every day of the week, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security — by the way, the way to save those programs is by getting rid of the fraud. I’ve got to hit the reset button here in New Jersey come January. We’re going to keep the focus on New Jersey.”

“What people want to hear about [is] what are we doing about property taxes? What are we doing about public education? What are we doing about our infrastructure? What are we doing about the lawlessness? What are we doing about the over development? What are we doing about the cost of electricity? Those are all the failures of the Murphy administration. Mikie Sherrill has supported every one of his policies,” Ciattarelli added.

Ciattarelli’s focus on Murphy comes as he is trying to win over independent voters and disaffected Democrats in the traditionally blue state. Trump significantly improved on his margin last year compared to 2020, but he still lost New Jersey by 6 points. Ciattarelli called out those voters in his victory speech Tuesday night, and on Wednesday he laid out how he plans to win them over.

“They’ve had it, as have I,” Ciattarelli said. “They’ve had it with sanctuary cities. They’ve had it with us being a sanctuary state. They’ve had it with our property taxes. We saw what went on on our Jersey Shore over the Memorial Day weekend, flash mobs, because we don’t support our local police. It’s across the board. Look what’s happened in education. We just slipped from two to 12 on the national report card because of the performance or lack thereof of our students.”

Ciattarelli is, of course, still linked to Trump, who endorsed him and helped consolidate Republican primary voters behind him, helping fuel his resounding re-nomination. On Tuesday night at a victory party in Holmdel, New Jersey, voters who spoke to NBC News emphasized Trump’s endorsement as having “sealed the deal” for them.

“If he continues with Trump and doesn’t become like one of them RINOs [Republican In Name Only], if he continues going the right path, I think he’s going to do great,” one supporter said.

On Wednesday, Ciattarelli said Trump is “really excited about the possibilities here in New Jersey. There’s an opportunity for us to win this year, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Sherrill suggested in her primary victory speech Tuesday night that she plans to tie Ciattarelli to the president, referring to her opponent as a “Trump lackey.”

“This country is too beautiful to be beholden to the cruelty and self interest that Jack and Trump are trying to hoist on her,” Sherrill said.

For his part, Ciattarelli has been hesitant to publicly break with the president. The Republican told NBC News that he supports Trump’s decision to federalize California’s National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles against immigration raids, despite objections from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“The first job of any elected official is public health and safety. If they feel the National Guard is needed, why not? I think our local police and our state police would welcome the National Guard here to help them,” Ciattarelli said.

Sherrill wrote in an X post on Sunday that the Trump administration’s move was “a dangerous stunt designed to inflame divisions and further a political agenda” and that it was “disturbing” to see Ciattarelli applauding the decision.

“I think it’s a dangerous situation to put military on the streets of this country, trained in combat, as opposed to the police officers who know how to handle this,” Sherrill told reporters after casting her primary ballot on Tuesday, noting a governor can ask the federal government for support.

“That is not the case here,” Sherrill said. “Governor Newsom surged law enforcement in and what Trump seems to be doing is trying to add fuel to the fire and really make a situation violent and bad. And I just think that’s completely unacceptable.”

Immigration is expected to be a top issue in the governor’s race, with around 1 in 4 New Jersey residents born in another country, according to census data. The first of several Ciattarelli campaign events on Wednesday took place in a predominantly Latino area in Sherrill’s congressional district.

“Immigrants that are here legally want to achieve the American dream, and too many people right now don’t feel like they can do that here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said. “Whether it’s get the job of their dreams, get the education they want, raise a family, start a business, retire here, those are all the things that people are terribly insecure about.”

“Those are all the failures of the Murphy administration,” Ciattarelli added.

Ciattarelli, who lost a close race against Murphy in 2021, said that this year is going to be different, in part because the state is not in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I thought we were going to win in ‘21, but I know we’re going to win this race. The political landscape is very different,” Ciatterelli said. “I’m not competing with a pandemic or a shelter-in-place order. I’m not going up against an incumbent. I’m going up against somebody who’s totally out of touch with what it is that really matters and bothers New Jersey.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com