New Jersey Republican Primary for Governor Filled with Multiple Spoiler Candidates
The race for the governorship in New Jersey is heating up! There are already 3 established candidates vying to be the Republican nominee in State Senator Jon Bramnick, 2021 Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, and 101.5 radio host Bill Spadea; a large amount of these candidates have run with little to no success, looking to be a potential spoiler.
Former State Senator Ed Durr has declared his candidacy but has not reported any fundraising to the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to date. Former Burlington City Mayor Dr. James Fazzone is seeking the GOP nod for Governor. However, Fazzone posts videos unrelated to political activity on platforms like X and Facebook, while still advertising that he is a candidate. Perennial candidate Robert Canfield has gunned for public office numerous times unsuccessfully as an Independent candidate. Canfield ran for Brick Mayor in 2017, Brick School Board in 2018 and 2019, and Ocean County Commissioner in 2021. His run for Governor will be his first bid for public office as a Republican. Other potential candidates may look to jump in the race, but all are considered unserious. Durr and Fazzone are the only two spoiler candidates who have been elected in the past.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats have a loaded primary field with no unserious candidates. In addition, four out of the six candidates are incumbents who have run multiple times successfully. This includes Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, who is believed to be the frontrunner to secure the Democratic nomination; Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. In addition, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller served as Montclair Mayor from 2020-2024 and was seen promoting his gubernatorial bid at the NJ League of Municipalities Conference two weeks ago. Lastly, former Senate President Steve Sweeney is looking to make a political comeback after an embarrassing loss to Ed Durr. Sweeney is arguably the weakest of the bunch considering he is no longer an incumbent and his loss to Durr. However, he has name ID in South Jersey where he lives, and can make a case to secure multiple South Jersey counties in the primary.
As it stands today, the Governor’s race could come down to Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill as both candidates have received the most support amongst their base and have received significant endorsements. It is going to be a wild ride in 2025, so get your popcorn ready and enjoy the show!
Addational reporting by Brendan Czuczuk
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