Who can REALLY
help Republicans win in 2025?
When you compare the records of the announced and presumptive GOP gubernatorial candidates as individual vote-getters AND party leaders, there is no comparison. By far, Jack Ciattarelli is superior.
Ciattarelli won Democratic-leaning districts three times.
Ciattarelli never represented a state legislative district with a Republican registration advantage. Despite that, he won three races (2011, 2013, 2015) – and in all three, fewer than 25% of registered voters in the district were Republicans.
In fact, the district Ciattarelli won three times voted for Clinton by 17% in 2016, and for Biden by a staggering 24% in 2020.
-
Jon Bramnick has won tough districts, but never a district where Republicans comprise fewer than 27.7% of the registrants; and in the 2023 victory that his campaign touts, Republicans made up over 29% of the registrants.
Jack Ciattarelli energized the Republican base AND won over swing voters.
Ciattarelli won the state’s reddest counties (Ocean, Sussex & Cape May) with a larger percentage than both President Trump and Governor Christie (2009).
-
Jon Bramnick’s overt hostility to Republican voters who support President Trump will assuredly lead to a softening of base support in a general election.
Jack Ciattarelli had massive Republican coattails down ballot in 2021.
​
In 2021, Republicans won more than one hundred local, county and state races, including defeating two incumbent Democratic Senators – including the Senate President – winning an open Senate seat, defeating five incumbent Democratic Assemblymembers, winning three open Assembly seats, and picking up county seats in Gloucester and Passaic.
-
In 2021, gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli won:
-
All six congressional districts Republicans held as recently as 2016
-
51 of 53 municipalities that flipped from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020
-
All 36 towns where Trump beat Clinton in 2016, but that Murphy won in 2017
-
All 18 towns that voted for Trump in 2016 & 2020 but backed Murphy in 2017
-
-
In 2023, without Ciattarelli on top of the ticket:
-
Senate Democrats won 48 towns that Murphy lost to Ciattarelli in 2021
-
The overall statewide vote swung nearly 6% in the Democrats favor
-
Republicans gave back nearly every gain that was made in 2021
-
Republicans lost seats during Bramnick’s tenure as GOP Assembly Leader.
-
Republicans went from 32 seats in 2013, to 26 seats in 2017, before getting back to 28 seats in 2019; an overall net loss of four seats.
-
When Bramnick moved on to run for State Senate during the 2021 elections, Republicans – led by Ciattarelli’s statewide presence – reached 34 seats in the Assembly.
As for Bill Spadea, well, he’s never won anything.
​
-
In 2004, Spadea limped to 39.7% of the vote against ultra-liberal Congressman Rush Holt in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.
-
While most candidates don’t brag about not breaking 40%, Spadea claims in his own bio that he “beat expectations.” But, compared to his most recent defeat, 40% looks pretty good.
-
In 2012, Spadea ran in the Special Joint Republican County Convention – ironically in an effort to become Jack Ciattarelli’s running mate (!) – and lost 75% to 25%, including losing his own hometown.
(Sources: New Jersey Division of Elections, NJGlobe.com, Ballotpedia, BillSpadea.com)