Jack Ciattarelli vows to lower energy costs on day 1 if elected NJ governor—Dem opponent vows to sue Trump

Republican Jack Ciattarelli as well as Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill clashed in a debate on Wednesday evening as they both are making the final push in the New Jersey gubernatorial race. When both were asked about the first thing they would do in office, Ciattarelli said he would pull the state out of carbon tax agreements to lower energy costs for New Jersey residents and Sherrill said she would sue President Donald Trump regarding tariffs.

The moderators asked, "What do you want to do the first day you're in office that no one's thinking about."

"I want to join the court case against the tariffs that the President's implementing right now. That's one of the number one things I hear about as I speak to thousands of New Jerseyans, is how these tariff costs are raising everything from a cup of coffee to the groceries they buy to make dinner at night," Sherrill said.

Ciattarelli then responded to the question: "Lower your energy costs on day one with executive order number three, we're pulling out of RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a carbon tax policy that has failed New Jersey."

The debate between the two nominees got tense at times, with Sherrill trying to tie Ciattarelli to Trump as he also made reference to Sherrill being accused of cheating at the Naval Academy. At the time, she was not allowed to participate in graduation. 

Ciattarelli also slammed Sherrill over paying fines for federal stock trading violations in 2021.

"I've never broken the law," he said in the debate. "She had to pay federal fines for breaking federal law on stock trades and stock reporting, and the New York Times reports that she was trading defense stocks while sitting on the House Armed Services Committee."

According to recent polls, the New Jersey governor's race is in a dead heat between the two candidates, something that calls into question the common thought that New Jersey is under the tight grip of the Democratic Party.

The poll from Emerson found that each candidate has 43 percent support among voters while 11 percent of voters in New Jersey are undecided.

“The first Emerson College general election survey of New Jersey’s 2025 election for Governor reveals a tightly contested race in the Garden State,” Emerson College Polling Director Spencer Kimball said. “Young voters, under 40, break for Sherrill by large margins, 58% to 24%. The race tightens to seven points among voters in their 40s, with Sherrill leading 47% to 40%, then Ciattarelli flips the script among voters over 50, leading Sherrill 52% to 36% among this group.”