NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciatarelli go head-to-head Wednesday in their final arguments governor of new jerseyCheryl’s military record and high cost of living become major issues in a closely watched race as the federal government shuts down.
New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, to elect a governor this fall. donald trump’s How is the Democratic Party responding to the second term?
The hour-long debate gives candidates a chance to solidify their pitch to voters. Voters have already begun mailing in their ballots ahead of the Nov. 4 election. Early in-person voting is scheduled for October 25th to November 2nd.
New Jersey has had Democratic presidential and Senate contests for decades, but has alternated between Republicans and Democrats in its bizarre race for governor. Back in the 1980s, voters went with candidates from the opposite party to the president. But term-limited Democratic government Phil Murphy broke that pattern in 2021 when he narrowly reelected Ciattarelli in what is now his third campaign for governor.
But the state has become more conservative in recent years, and Trump lost to Democrat Kamala Harris by just 6 points last November.
In their first discussion, The candidate was sharpCiattarelli calls his opponent’s promises vague and dishonest, and Cheryl ties Ciattarelli to Trump and questions the former business owner and accountant’s math skills. playing cards Approved Ciattarelli The GOP primary says he went “everything” and was “100% (plus!) right now” on the president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, despite past criticism.
Here’s what to watch in the debate, which aired locally on ABC.
Shutdown and Hudson River Tunnel
Candidates are taking different approaches federal government shutdownstarted last week.
One key difference is the focus on the Hudson River Rail project, which is decades in the planning and will replace more than a century of tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York City. Trump administration used shutdown as pretext to freeze funds for the project amid a review of its compliance with the administration’s diversity policy.
Sherrill was elected to fill the long-time GOP Held seat during Trump’s first interim term and advocated for the funding during his tenure, holding a press conference outside a train station in suburban New York and sharply criticizing the freeze.
She was able to lean into the effect the shutdown could have on the project. This is a work in progress for now, but it’s unclear how likely federal reimbursements will run out if the shutdown drags on.
“Trump froze funding for all this important projects. And what did Jack Ciattarelli say?” Sherrill said at a recent event in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Ciattarelli blamed Sherrill for being responsible for the shutdown as a member of Congress. Look for him to criticize her for voting on an earlier continuing resolution that opened up the government under former President Joe Biden, even though she voted against the current Republican-backed measure.
release of military records
Another topic that is likely to come up in the discussion is two related but Another story about Cheryl’s time In the Navy. One story detailed how Sherrill’s largely unredacted military records were released to Republican operatives close to Ciattarelli’s campaign. Other news centers on the news that Cheryl did not attend her 1994 graduation from the Naval Academy amid fallout from that year’s well-documented cheating scandal.
Cheryl said she was forbidden to walk because she didn’t attract her fellow classmates. She still graduated, commissioned and became a helicopter pilot.
Ciattarelli’s campaign called on her to release additional records to back up its defense, but she declined.
“If these sealed disciplinary records match Representative Sherrill’s current account, we do not understand why she would refuse to release the records and let this matter rest,” the campaign said in an email.
In a recent interview, Cheryl said her file shows a “record of service.”
“I’m certainly not going to let him,” she said, “run amok over the records of my classmates at the academy.”
Instead, Sherrill’s campaign was seized for improperly releasing information to the National Archives, with personal information unredacted.
Her campaign has published the inspector general’s investigation into the release and published a letter online from its archives, including an apology that the records were given “in error”.
It is not clear whether any of the records mistakenly released by the National Archives are related to the reason why they were not allowed to attend the graduation ceremony.
Affordability and who is responsible
Both candidates embrace the high cost of living in New Jersey. Sherrill says he will issue an executive order freezing utility rates that have steadily increased over the summer. Ciattarelli talks about lowering sky-high property taxes as a percentage of a home’s value.
Ciattarelli blames the economic disaster on the state Legislature and the governor’s long-standing Democratic control over the past eight years. Seeking change in Trenton was a central plank of his campaign.
Meanwhile, Sherrill points to the president’s tariffs and trade wars as causes for voters’ belt tightening. She regularly asks voters to elect her to stand up to Trump’s policies.
