New Jersey’s Pick-Me MAGA GOP Primary is in Full Swing

New Jersey’s Pick-Me MAGA GOP Primary is in Full Swing 

New Jersey’s Republican pick-me MAGA primary is reaching a fever pitch, with two-time failed candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli stating he would “welcome [Trump’s] endorsement,” while his leading opponent, former talk radio host Bill Spadea, runs ads featuring Trump calling out Ciattarelli for being insufficiently loyal.

Ciattarelli’s reluctance to seek Trump’s support during his last campaign for governor earned him harsh words from the president, who said “I think [Ciattarelli] made some very big mistakes,” and “this guy never came to ask for my support, and you know what? When MAGA sees that, they don’t like it and they didn’t vote for him. He would have won easily if he did, but he didn’t do that. He thinks he’s hot stuff, I guess, and he doesn’t have to do that.” 

And while recent reporting from Politico suggested that Trump “appears inclined towards Spadea” after these comments, Ciattarelli’s very first TV ad of the campaign this week stars Donald Trump, a notable change from his last failed campaign for governor, where not a single ad featured or mentioned Trump. Ciattarelli has also unleashed his allies, including longtime Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway, who started the anti-Spadea Super PAC Kitchen Table Conservatives, on Spadea. According to NJ.com, Conway has been personally lobbying the president on behalf of Ciattarelli in an all-out effort to earn his support.

“Jack Ciattarelli and Bill Spadea are going to unprecedented lengths to win over Donald Trump. Too bad they aren’t doing the same for New Jerseyans,” said DGA Campaign Communications Advisor Emma O’Brien. “With every day that this field is more focused on Mar-a-Lago than Monmouth County, their extremism shows voters that they simply cannot be trusted to put New Jersey families first in the governor’s office.”

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