Jack Is Back: Can Ciattarelli Overcome The Odds In Essex County?

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Jack is back. But how will he do in next year’s governor election in New Jersey – including the Democratic stronghold of Essex County?

On Tuesday, former New Jersey assemblyman and governor candidate Jack Ciattarelli officially threw his hat into the ring for another run at the governor’s seat in 2025. It was an announcement many pundits have been expecting from the Republican, who nearly beat Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021.

Next year, Murphy won’t be in the mix again, having completed two consecutive terms. And the field of candidates is already getting crowded: other Republican candidates include New Jersey Sen. Jon Bramnick and Robert Canfield, a real estate broker agent.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic field of declared candidates includes former New Jersey Senate president Stephen Sweeney, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Ciattarelli launched a direct appeal to voters in Essex County in 2021 around a perpetual hot-button issue: property taxes.

“Do you or someone you know live in Bergen, Essex, Union or Passaic County?” he wrote in a campaign email. “These residents pay among the highest property taxes in the country. In fact, these counties rank among the seven most expensive counties in terms of property taxes nationwide.”

• See Related: Ciattarelli Reaches Out To 'High-Taxed' Essex County Homeowners
• See Related: Essex County Homeowners Pay Highest Property Taxes In New Jersey

Part of Ciattarelli’s platform included changing the state’s school aid funding formula, a call that other lawmakers and school officials continue to make this year, including some in Essex County. Read More: SOMA Schools May Have To 'Cut To The Bone' Without More State Aid

Ciattarelli ended up with 48 percent of the vote in 2021 compared to Murphy’s 51.2 percent. But in Essex County, the difference was much starker, with Murphy getting nearly three times as many votes. Other gubernatorial candidates that year included Gregg Mele (Libertarian Party), Madelyn Hoffman (Green Party) and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party). See Related: Essex County Votes For Murphy By Nearly 3-To-1 Margin Over Ciattarelli

2025 CAMPAIGN

On Tuesday, Ciattarelli – a Hillsborough native – officially declared his candidacy for governor in 2025 at an event in Freehold. And property taxes appear to be a central part of his campaign platform again next year, with a pledge to cap taxes at 1 percent of a property’s assessed value.

How would he pay for it? Cutting costs in the state government, Ciattarelli said.

“We will finally break Trenton’s addiction to spending and debt,” he urged supporters on Tuesday evening.

Watch his campaign launch video here.

“Ciattarelli did better than anyone was expecting in 2021, so it makes sense that he wants another shot” said Dan Cassino, a professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, as part of a poll released last year.

“But in an open race, there are going to be some big guns who want the nomination, and Ciattarelli is going to have a fight on his hands if he wants to get it again,” Cassino added.

According to recent state election statistics, there are 295,937 registered Democrats and 60,726 registered Republicans in Essex County as of April 1. There are 214,581 unaffiliated voters in the county and 5,417 affiliated with a third-party.

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