Politics & Government

Jack Ciattarelli Due In Woodbridge At 10 A.M. Thursday

Republican contender Ciattarelli will be at the Reo Diner at 10 a.m. and Sen. Bernie Sanders will host a rally at Rutgers Thursday night.

Republican gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey Jack Ciattarelli
Republican gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey Jack Ciattarelli (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The countdown is on until next Tuesday, Election Day and things are getting hot and heavy in the New Jersey governor's race.

First, here's a reminder that Republican contender Jack Ciattarelli will be at the Reo Diner (392 Amboy Avenue) in Woodbridge at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, where he'll do a meet and greet with voters. The public event is open to all and hosted by the Woodbridge Township Republican Organization.

Then Ciattarelli will be in Edison at 11:30 a.m. for an Edison Early Voting Party at 43 Oakland Avenue.

Find out what's happening in Woodbridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Then later Thursday night, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will host a Get Out the Vote event with Gov. Phil Murphy on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus. That public rally will kick off at 6:45 p.m. in the area of the College Avenue Parking Deck, 622 George Street, New Brunswick.

The most recent Monmouth University poll released this week shows Democrat Murphy with a sizable lead over Ciattarelli, although the margin has narrowed over the past two months.

Find out what's happening in Woodbridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

That poll found half (50 percent) of registered voters support Murphy while 39 percent back Ciattarelli. The gap between Murphy and Ciattarelli keeps closing: They were 16 points apart in August, 13 points apart in September and now 11 points apart as of Oct. 27.

This week, Ciattarelli seized on this leaked video that purported to show a Murphy staffer saying he would implement vaccine mandates should he win re-election Tuesday. Murphy has not denied the video's existence, but said Wednesday he would not implement a vaccine mandate for children although he also said, "I would never say heck no to anything; we have to leave options on the table."

The Monmouth University pollsters said:

"A top issue for voters in the current poll is taxes, an area where Ciattarelli, the Republican challenger, has a decided advantage. However, Murphy is more trusted across a wider range of policy areas. Even though the Covid pandemic has diminished as a voter concern as education has risen as a priority, the Democratic incumbent maintains a lead because he has a clear edge on both issues. The poll also finds that Garden State opinion of President Joe Biden – who appeared at a groundbreaking event in Kearny this week – has dropped into negative territory."

See the Oct. 27 Monmouth U poll: https://www.monmouth.edu/polli...

Related: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Murphy To Campaign At Rutgers Thursday

Murphy, Ciattarelli Respond To Video Alleging Vaccine Mandates

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