There was little suspense in Murphy s race, where he appeared alone on the ballot.
Ciattarelli defeated three challengers, two of whom promoted themselves as vocal Trump supporters. They were Hirsh Singh, an engineer from Atlantic County, and Hudson County pastor and former real estate developer Phil Rizzo. Both men invoked the president as part of their efforts to win over the GOP vote in Democratic-leaning New Jersey.
But Ciattarelli won on the strength of his support among many in the party establishment, who delivered him coveted ballot position across the state. He’s also cultivated a following since four years ago when he lost the GOP nomination to then Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Ciattarelli signaled his plans to take on Murphy early almost as soon as Murphy took office in 2018.
Jack Ciattarelli secured the Republican Party's gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday night, earning the right to challenge incumbent Governor Phil Murphy in November's general election. As of 9:30 p.m. EST with over 50% of the anticipated vote tabulated, Ciattarelli was running 20+ points ahead of
Jack Ciattarelli won New Jersey s Republican primary for governor, but the majority of GOP voters did not cast their ballots for him. There are still some votes to be counted, but Ciattarelli received 49% of the votes. Opponents Phil Rizzo, Hirsh Singh and Brian Levine split the rest.
The disparity underscores how deeply divided the Republican party is both nationally and in New Jersey when it comes to former President Donald Trump.
Ciattarelli was branded a never Trumper by Trump loyalist Hirsh Singh during the New Jersey 101.5 GOP debate. Singh, Rizzo and Levine all tried to closely align themselves with the former president with each trying to claim they were the most closely allied with Trump. Trump never endorsed a candidate, and a spokesman branded claims he did endorse Singh fake news.
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