What You Need to Know About the Final NJ GOP Primary Debate

What You Need to Know About the Final NJ GOP Primary Debate

Tonight, New Jersey’s nasty and expensive GOP primary will come to a head as Bill Spadea and Jack Ciattarelli meet for one final showdown in a series of debates that have made headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Throughout debate season, New Jerseyans have seen wall-to-wall coverage of “big, bitter moments,” “testy exchanges,” and “Trump-fueled chaos” so dramatic that some observers noted that the first “explosive” debate “could have used a steel cage.”

“As Republicans take the stage tonight in the final act of this bruising primary full of messy infighting and cheap personal attacks, viewers shouldn’t get their hopes up for a meaningful conversation about the challenges facing New Jersey families,” said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy. “Instead, Ciattarelli and Spadea are closing out the primary the same way they’ve been campaigning since Day One: with petty attacks and a race to stake out the most extreme territory, that only goes to show voters that they can’t be trusted to put New Jersey first.”

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s GOP showdown:

Despite receiving Trump’s endorsement, Jack Ciattarelli is still facing a nasty primary challenge from Bill Spadea.

• After Ciattarelli’s endorsement, the New Jersey Globe reported that Spadea’s “not going anywhere” and is continuing his primary challenge against Ciattarelli.

• Just last week, Spadea released a new ad reminding New Jerseyans of Ciattarelli’s record as a “taxraiser.”

The last time they met for a debate, Ciattarelli and Spadea spent their time bickering and tearing each other down instead of focusing on the real issues affecting New Jerseyans.

• Philadelphia Inquirer: Jack Ciattarelli and Bill Spadea’s rivalry dominates another GOP debate for N.J. governor

• NJ Advance Media: Big, bitter moments in N.J. Republican governor debate

While they may not agree on much, the entire Republican field found common ground on defunding Planned Parenthood.

• Spadea and Ciattarelli took a break from brawling and bickering during the last explosive primary debate by pledging to go after health care providers and roll back reproductive freedoms.

• This comes as Spadea and Ciattarelli have traded nasty personal attacks over their MAGA bonafides on social media and in the press.

And no matter who makes it out of this increasingly hostile, nasty primary, the GOP nominee is guaranteed to be out of touch with New Jersey voters.

• NOTUS detailed how Spadea and Ciattarelli “sounding increasingly like President Donald Trump,” and “going MAGA” could do more harm than good, as Trump’s extreme, partisan agenda is deeply unpopular in the Garden State.

• Pollsters found that “more than half of New Jersey voters rated the president’s performance so far as poor.”

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