Republican Jack Ciattarelli is leaning on his endorsement from President Donald Trump to win next month's GOP primary for governor in New Jersey, pledging support for the president and saying during a debate Tuesday that he would not challenge Trump's executive orders in court.
"I'm going to continue to work with the president. We spoke about that last week when we spoke about making the country and New Jersey safe again. We do that by getting rid of sanctuary cities, by getting rid of our sanctuary state status," Ciattarelli said during an exchange on immigration policy.
“I told him my attorney general will not be suing the White House for executive orders. We're not going to waste taxpayer dollars,” Ciattarelli said, later adding that he would "follow [Trump]'s lead" on deportations and that criminals should be deported.
"At the end of the day, if he's going to deport all 14, 15 or 16 million, I support the president," Ciattarelli said. "He was elected on the promise of making the country safe again."
Ciattarelli went on to defend his support for giving drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants, saying, "If by chance there are people he is not going to deport, we have to know who they are."
Ciattarelli touted Trump's endorsement multiple times throughout the debate, at which he faced off against former radio host Bill Spadea, a staunch Trump supporter, and state Sen. Jon Bramnick, a Trump critic. Two other GOP candidates on the ballot for the June 10 primary did not meet the fundraising threshold to qualify for the debate, which was hosted by On New Jersey, the New Jersey Globe, Rider University and Save Jersey.
Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman who narrowly lost in the general election against Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, has been leading the primary field in limited public polling and campaign spending. Ciattarelli's campaign also launched a TV ad Tuesday that highlighted Trump's endorsement.
Spadea acknowledged at the debate that Trump opted to endorse Ciattarelli, but he suggested Trump was swayed by skewed polling.
“The president endorsed a poll — a poll that was conducted and paid for by Jack’s campaign," Spadea said in his opening statement. "The president did not endorse a plan. The president did not endorse a set of principles.”
The candidates were asked how, as Trump allies, they would navigate Republican-led cuts to federal programs that could negatively affect New Jersey residents.
"Did not the recession back in 2011 impact our ability to do this and do that, but yet we met that challenge? And I believe we can meet this challenge," Ciattarelli said. "But the first job of any governor is to provide for health and safety. And that [means] taking care of our most vulnerable people, whether it's people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people on Medicaid, we will find a way."
Spadea noted he has disagreed with Trump on "multiple occasions."
"Disagreement is OK. You have to protect this state," Spadea said.
Bramnick pledged "to fight for New Jersey, even if it means disagreeing with Washington Republicans. New Jersey's got to come first; it's simple as that."
Ciattarelli pitched himself as the candidate most likely to win in November. He lost to Murphy by 3 points four years ago, and this year's race is expected to be competitive. A crowded field of Democrats are competing in next month’s primary to replace Murphy, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits.
