Listen to this articleThe basics:
- Sherrill and Ciattarelli met for the first 2025 NJ governor debate at Rider University
- Candidates sparred over taxes, affordability, and property tax relief
- Energy policy and rising utility costs drew sharp exchanges
- Debate set the tone for the race to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy
New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial race entered its next phase as the first debate took place Sunday night at Rider University Alumni Gymnasium.
The townhall style debate was presented by O’Toole Scrivo LLC presented the townhall-style debate, produced by On New Jersey, New Jersey Globe and Rider University. At this first of two such events between Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic hopeful Mikie Sherrill. There was an estimated attendance of 1,600 people.
Laura Jones, host of “NJ Politics with Laura Jones” on MeTV-WJLP and On New Jersey, hosted along with featured panelists: David Wildstein of New Jersey Globe, Micah Rasmussen of Rider’s Rebovich Institute and Sophie Nieto-Munoz of New Jersey Monitor. The candidates also took questions from audience members, including Rider University students, faculty, alum and others.
And you could feel the stakes of this race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy in the room – with the fervor and support of the audience members for their respective candidates on full display throughout the evening.
“Most of the questions will come from real New Jersey voters right here in this room – asking questions about the issues that matter most to them and to you,” said Jones at the outset.
Each candidate then introduced themselves to the live crowd and those watching at home across the great Garden State.
Opening up
Sherrill, the sitting representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 11th District, noted her background as a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor – and as wife and mom of four.
“That’s why I am laser focused on driving down costs for families like yours,” said Sherrill. “I’m going to declare a state of emergency on day one, freezing your rate hikes. I’m going to demand transparency and accountability from our government to save you time and money.”
Ciattarelli kicked off the evening by saying, “New Jersey – we need change. We need a hands-on CEO governor who’s from New Jersey that knows exactly what needs to be done and is willing to do it. Overwhelmingly, New Jerseyans feel that we’re headed in the wrong direction.”
Throughout the debate, Ciattarelli and Sherrill tagged each other with a number of barbs, with Sherrill’s line of attack focused on tying Ciattarelli to President Donald Trump while Ciattarelli aimed to paint Sherrill as a continuation of Gov. Phil Murphy’s policies and the long-running Democrat rule in the state.
Early topics included specific ideas and fixes, Trump, as well as the increasing spate of political violence and rhetoric in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which resulted in a testy exchange between the candidates.
Issue No. 1
From there, a Rider student asked a question about how to make the state more affordable for working-class and middle-class families.
“We know there’s an affordability crisis,” said Ciattarelli. “We know that our state budget – it took 238 years to get to $36 billion. It’s gone from $36 billion to $59 billion. And yet none of that investment has been made to make life more affordable. In fact, it’s become more unaffordable here in the State of New Jersey. So, there’s a number of very specific proposals in my platform.”
“We talked about a few already – making all retirement income tax-free for our seniors, because they worry about living out their lives in a home; freezing property taxes once you hit age 70 for life; allowing seniors to deduct 100% of the property taxes on their New Jersey tax return; capping property taxes at 1% of the assessed value of your home, if you’re a first-time home buyer; making the first two years out of high school – the first two years out of college tax-free. So, you help get started here,” Ciattarelli continued, stressing he would reduce the tax burden for all New Jerseyans as he pushed back against the claims of attack ad alleging he would raise the sales tax.
“These are just some of the things that we can do to make Jersey more affordable for everybody. But what you’ll also see is somebody that’s going to be very responsible about the way we spend our money. I will very responsibly and surgically reduce the size and cost of our state government to – to afford a tax cut for individuals and businesses.”
‘Driving down costs’
Sherrill went next on that question.
“I’ve been laser focused on driving down costs for New Jerseyans. Jack, on the other hand, has voted at every single level of government to raise your taxes,” Sherrill alleged. “In fact, he’s voted against over a billion dollars in property tax relief, and he supported Trump in implementing over $30 billion against property tax relief. So, in every way, he’s raised costs on New Jerseyans.
“That’s why I’m going to get into office and make sure I’m lowering them – by sharing services in school administrative costs, in municipal courts. And continuing to hammer home the way in which we can support seniors with ANCHOR and Stay New Jersey. So that they aren’t here susceptible to the constant increase in property taxes. I’ll continue to lower your cost – and Jack’s going to raise them at every level.”
Ciattarelli rebutted, “So, a couple things about the ANCHOR and Stay New Jersey programs. I don’t think somebody making $500,000 a year should get a property tax rebate in this state,” said Ciattarelli. “That, to me, is not right.
“But, let me say something else. I think it’s insulting here in New Jersey, when we take money out of your right-hand pocket – put some back in our left-hand pocket; and call it a fancy name. But one other thing about the affordability crisis. Remember one thing that she’ll never remind you of. The Democrats have controlled our state Legislature for 25 years. The Democrats have controlled the Executive branch, the governorship for eight years. And look where we are today.”
Energizing insights
Things then moved to, perhaps, the most hot-button issue of the campaign – energy prices, and how to address the crisis, asked a Rider alum who wanted to know specifics without just blaming each other.
“I don’t think it’s blame when you’re giving facts” said Ciattarelli. “And here are the facts. When Phil Murphy took office, we were an electricity exporter. We produced more electricity than we needed. He shut down six different electricity generation plants; he put an unofficial moratorium on natural gas; he didn’t expand our nuclear capabilities in South Jersey – zero carbon emissions.
“He didn’t’ accelerate solar. Talk to solar developers – who want to use the rooftops of warehouses, which is prime real estate for solar. Didn’t accelerate that. What he did do is he bet it all on wind. Now, if he was from New Jersey – and anybody who’s from New Jersey would know that the Jersey Shore is sacrosanct here in the state. Nobody wants wind farms off our Jersey Shore – male, female, young and old, conservative, liberal – for different reasons. What I’ve said all along is I’ll reopen and repurpose the plants. We’ll expand our nuclear footprint in South Jersey. We will accelerate solar on rooftops and on warehouses,” Ciattarelli continued.
“And we’re pulling out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – that carbon tax initiative has been a failure. Air is no cleaner. Electricity is only more expensive. And we’re not sending ratepayer dollars to other states. By pulling out of RGGI, we can save half-a-billion dollars for ratepayers.”
Producing power
Sherrill went next about energy prices.
“Anybody from New Jersey should know that this has been a long time coming. And that too many people have added to the problem,” said Sherrill. “So, whether its PJM, the grid operator, or FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] or BPU [Board of Public Utilities]; whether it’s President Trump rolling back some of the initiatives on solar or adding $250 per family to your energy bill. Everybody at the table is at fault. And they keep dumping the costs onto the ratepayer here in New Jersey.
“That is why I’m freezing rate hikes on the ratepayer. Because, let’s face it, some of our utility companies have made over a billion dollars in profits. And yet, our ratepayers are constantly suffering. So, I’m going to freeze those rate hikes by declaring a state of emergency. I’m going to add massive amounts of power into the grid,” she continued.
“Right now, we need to produce power here in our state – because the market has been screwed up by PJM and because Virginia has a million data centers, which are sucking all the power out of market. So, we need to produce here – lower costs here – and stop putting the cost on the ratepayers of New Jersey.”
In closing
The debate snaked through a number of notable (and wide-ranging topics) including rent/housing costs, affordable housing – overdevelopment, school funding, privacy, shared services/consolidation, public safety/law enforcement/crime, transportation/NJ Transit, segregated schools, vaccines/immunity rates, pension payments, state health insurance system, artificial intelligence, political corruption, MVC reform, immigration, mental illness and much more.
Interspersed between those topics were more of the back-and-forth and attack barbs that mirrored much of what you are seeing in the television and social media ads – and on the campaign trail, with Sherrill continuing to attack Ciattarelli about Trump and accusing of him wanting to raise costs; while Ciattarelli accused Sherrill of being full of platitudes and light on specifics, missing from the campaign trail, among other barbs throughout the evening.
I’ve served this country my entire life … I’m going to continue to serve this state – because I want to drive down your costs.
– Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill
Sherrill led off with the closing statement, “This has been a great debate. And I think you’ve heard some clear differences here. I’ve served this country my entire life. As I mentioned, helicopter pilot, prosecutor, members of Congress, and mom of four great kids. I’m going to continue to serve this state – because I want to drive down your costs. So, whether it’s utility cost or housing costs or energy costs – you’ve heard again and again and again. I have a plan to drive down your costs.”
‘Committed to fixing our state’
Ciattarelli began his closing by running through his family story about three generations of Ciattarellis being here in New Jersey for 100 years, their journey – and how he has followed in his grandparents’ and parents’ footsteps.
I’m committed to fixing our state. When something I love is broken, I want to fix it.
– Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli
“I’m a two-time successful business owner here in the State of New Jersey, having created jobs. I’ve also had the privilege of serving at every level of government – municipal, county, and Legislature,” said Ciattarelli, noting that he term-limited himself and didn’t take the salary and benefits at the municipal or county level. “I’m an MBA CPA. No candidate has ever come before you with that resume.
“And so, I’m committed to fixing our state. When something I love is broken, I want to fix it. I believe leadership matters. I believe that we can fix the State of New Jersey – or I wouldn’t be asking for your consideration.”
Watch the complete debate here, courtesy of New Jersey Globe:
Victory laps
Following the debate, both candidates and their camps touted their respective performances.
From Sherrill campaign manager Alex Ball,” “The contrast tonight couldn’t be clearer: Voters saw that Mikie Sherrill will bring bold leadership to serve the people of New Jersey, and two-time loser Jack Ciattarelli will only serve Donald Trump.
“Tonight, Mikie outlined her bold vision, beginning on Day One with a State of Emergency on Utility Costs to end the rate hikes and lower costs. She discussed how she will take decisive action to protect kids online. That’s because she’s going to bring a different kind of leadership to Trenton — to make life more affordable, help our kids get ahead, and bring transparency and accountability to state government.
“Jack’s extreme MAGA record is wildly out of touch with New Jersey — and given so many opportunities tonight, he simply couldn’t bring himself to disagree with Trump; instead, he embraced Trump’s devastating economic policies like tariffs. In a stunning moment, he defended school segregation. He refused to condemn RFK Jr. and the Trump administration’s rejection of science and vaccines because he simply doesn’t have the backbone to stand up for our kids and their health. And he cheered on Trump’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education.
“Jack didn’t say a peep about his record because it’s truly indefensible: voting to raise taxes at every level of government, against Planned Parenthood funding six times, and against Sandy relief three times. That’s why New Jersey is going to reject him for a third time this November.”
All eyes on Jersey
Ciattarelli wrote on social media:
“Tonight, we declared VICTORY in the first debate. I came prepared with a detailed plan to fix New Jersey, with real answers to our state’s toughest challenges, and the readiness to get to work on Day One fighting for every New Jerseyan. I am more determined than ever to deliver change:
- Lower our taxes
- Make our communities safer
- Fix our schools
- Make New Jersey affordable again
“Meanwhile, my opponent spent the night blaming everything on President Trump, dodging questions, and refusing to give voters a straight answer. When asked if she’d lower taxes, her response was: “I’m not going to commit to anything.” That’s not leadership – that’s doubling down on failure.
“The choice for New Jersey’s future has never been clearer.”
All eyes are on the Garden State as this pivotal race serves an early bell weather (along with Virginia) ahead of next year’s mid-terms about the political temperature of the state and nation.
Buckle up for an intense stretch run of this race – with tonight setting the tone for what comes next, as the attacks sharpen.
Please stay with NJBIZ for the very latest coverage.
