With three weeks left in the gubernatorial race, a recent uptick has occurred in campaigning for both gubernatorial candidates: Jack Ciattarelli (R) and Mikie Sherill (D) who outlined their positions on critical issues such as healthcare, education, taxes, abortion, affordability, and housing. Both candidates received strong support from their parties. In the past, Ciaterelli proposed tax cuts and pledged to reduce the Corporate Business tax to garner more revenue for the state. Sherill supported tax credits geared towards education and seniors. With NJ having some of the highest taxes in any state, many New Jerseyans are eager to know more about their plans to make NJ more affordable.
Ciattarelli champions a cap on property taxes to align the tax with the value of an accessed home. However, a statewide cap on property taxes could severely deplete government revenue which funds critical services such as education and public safety. Many of his supporters feel it is necessary with home ownership in NJ falling below the national average at 63%, according to the U.S. census data.
Ciattarelli is also a strong supporter of natural gas and nuclear energy and blames the rising cost of utilities on the Murphy administration’s support for offshore wind farms. Sherill continues to shift the focus on addressing the rising cost of electricity prices promising to declare a state of emergency on her first day as governor. With that action she can freeze utility rates but that could cause a delay on infrastructure upgrades and reduce grid reliability which provides electricity. However, some are worried that Ciattarelli will refuse to compromise on issues of energy because of his strong stance against clean energy.
In healthcare, Ciattarelli expressed his concerns about the enlargement of Medicaid spending throughout the last few years and he supported Trump’s actions to reduce Medicaid accessibility. New Jerseyans who may be supporters of Ciattarelli, but not for Trump, find themselves in a difficult position because he has publically applauded the President’s actions. On the other hand, Sherill furiously criticized Trump’s efforts towards Medicaid adding that the cuts will “cause 300,000 New Jerseyans to lose health insurance and $1 billion uncompensated care tax on hospitals” which could lead to a spike in already rising premium costs. Consequently, Sherill proposes a healthcare reform that will require pharmacy middlemen to pass discounts directly to patients. Her proposal could lead to pharmaceutical companies being held more accountable for rising the costs of drugs on consumers and she will likely enhance government regulation on this industry.
It’s important to note that both candidates continue to make aggressive attacks towards each other’s personal lives. At the gubernatorial debate on October 8th, Sherill accused Ciattarelli of killing tens of thousands related to opioid usage. Specifically, Sherill expressed that Ciattarelli used his publishing firm to dispense misleading information about the dangers of opioid misuse. She also alluded to Ciattarelli’s development of an app with a company called ProPatient in 2016 to create an app that may have incentivized people to use opioids more frequently, thus increasing the possibility of addiction. Ciattarelli responded by attacking Sherill for reports that she was prohibited from walking at her Naval Academy graduation. After the debate, Ciattarelli stated that he intended to sue her for defamation. The attacks from both candidates are representative of the way campaigns have become increasingly more personal and less focused on the political issues at hand.
Overall, reports from NY Times polling reveals that Sherill is still leading in the race, however, the November 4th election will be decided by their ability to persuade New Jerseyans to agree with their stances on core issues such as taxes, healthcare, affordability, and more.
Sources:
https://newjerseymonitor.com/2025/10/01/new-jersey-governor-affordable/
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ciattarelli-to-sue-sherrill-new-jersey-governor/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/new-jersey-governor-election-polls-2025.html