GOP's Jack Ciattarelli announces third run for New Jersey governor

Two-time Republican candidate for New Jersey governor Jack Ciattarelli announced on Tuesday that he would mount a third bid to claim the governor's mansion in 2025.

He originally ran in 2017, but lost the GOP primary. He went a step further in 2021 and narrowly lost the general contest to incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. State Sen. Jon Bramnick is also vying for the GOP nod, Politico reported. New Jersey holds off-year elections.

"It’s time for a commonsense problem solver. A chief executive officer. A hands-on CEO who knows exactly what needs to be done and is willing to do it. I think I know a guy," Ciattarelli declared in his announcement. He went on to highlight his near-successful 2021 run in the typically blue-leaning state. 

"Across the country, political talking heads were asking themselves how the hell a guy with a name most people couldn’t pronounce defied the polls, the predictions and the pundits," he told supporters. "How the hell did we nearly knock off an incumbent governor in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by one million? In all 21 counties and 564 towns, we almost pulled it off because of people like you."

The last Republican to win the governor's mansion was Gov. Chris Christie, who won a second term in 2013. The state has not backed a Republican for president since 1988 while the last Republican senator was Sen. Jeffrey Chiesa, whom Christie appointed to fill a vacancy in 2013 and who served for less than six months until a special election determined the permanent officeholder.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.