Despite not officially endorsing Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-Montclair) campaign for governor, two of New Jersey’s top progressive groups are launching a $300k investment to bolster her campaign and attack Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
The New Jersey Working Families Party and Make the Road Action New Jersey, a progressive group supporting immigrants and working New Jerseyans, backed Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during the Democratic primary for governor, but have stopped short of endorsing the more moderate Sherrill. Some New Jersey progressives have expressed wariness of Sherrill, but Ciattarelli’s embrace of President Donald Trump and promises to undo progressive achievements have pushed the two groups to exert resources on keeping him out of the governor’s mansion.
The $300k investment, first shared with the New Jersey Globe, includes a radio ad buy, mail spending, and canvassing efforts focused on Black and Latino voters in Elizabeth, Perth Amboy, Passaic, Rahway, and Franklin Township.
The balancing act is a staunch contrast from 2021, when both groups endorsed Gov. Phil Murphy for re-election. He entered office on a progressive platform and delivered key victories, including a boost to the state’s minimum wage, a pathway for immigrants of any legal status to obtain a driver’s license, and an expansion of legal aid to Dreamers and undocumented immigrants.
In a release announcing the investment, leaders of the two organizations didn’t mention Sherrill by name. Antoinette Miles, the state director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, argued Ciattarelli’s alliance with Trump will harm the state’s working class; voters should instead elect a nominee who will lower costs and protect civil rights, she said.
“Our efforts are targeted at the voters who are critical to building a working class coalition and who are poised to be the difference makers in this election,” Miles said in the announcement. “We need to elect a candidate who will fight to protect our civil rights and lower costs for working families — not act to further enrich his billionaire donors and cozy up to Donald Trump.”
Sherrill entered Congress as a moderate but has taken a more mainstream Democratic lane since setting her sights on statewide office. Still, she’s hesitated to take a stance on some issues important to progressive advocacy groups, particularly immigration policy. For example, she’s declined to say whether she would keep the Immigrant Trust Directive, which generally bars New Jersey police from collaborating with federal agents in civil immigration enforcement operations. Ciattarelli has said he would end the policy on Day One if elected.
Sherrill has focused on aggressive proposals to rein in the state’s rising cost of living, which is also top-of-mind for the Working Families Party and Make the Road Action. Nedia Morsy, the director of Make the Road Action New Jersey, said rising rent, utility, and grocery bills make life untenable for many New Jersey families.
“Together we will elect a candidate that will fight for more affordable housing and will crack down on predatory investors, negligent landlords, and deceptive lenders who buy up rental properties and jack up prices, collude to rig rents above market levels, don’t take care of their buildings, and discriminate in the home mortgage and rental markets,” Morsy said.
The investments were officially executed by independent expenditure groups tied to the Working Families Party and Make the Road Action.
The radio ad targets Ciattarelli for skipping a question he received at a press conference about the importance of Black and Hispanic voters to his campaign. Ciattarelli has said he skipped the question because it was off-topic.
Radio ad script:
[Narrator] “They’re simple questions for anyone but MAGA Jack Ciattarelli.”
[Reporter] “How important do you think Black and Hispanic voters are to winning your campaign?”
[Ciattarelli] “Okay, next question?”
[Narrator] “How about lowering costs for working families?”
[Ciattarelli] “Okay, next question?”
[Narrator] “And why do you support a plan hiking our electric bills?”
[Ciattarelli] “Okay, next question?”
[Narrator] “There’s no question. MAGA Jack Ciattarelli cannot be our governor. By November 4th, Jersey can reject Jack.”
