Trump's pick for New Jersey governor: Jack Ciattarelli

Jack Ciattarelli: Meet the candidates for NJ governor

New Jersey Now sits down with Republican gubernatorial candidate and former state representative Jack Ciattarelli. Endorsed by President Trump, Ciattarelli shares his stance on tariffs, property taxes, NJ Transit and ICE raids in the state.

NEW JERSEY - A survey conducted by Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill found that 44 percent of registered voters in New Jersey would support Jack Ciattarelli in the upcoming primary. This race will mark the third time the current front-runner for the Republican nomination has run for governor of the state. 

President Donald Trump endorsed Jack Ciattarelli for Governor of New Jersey, but who exactly is "Jack"? 

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli speaks during a news conference, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in Raritan, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

You don't know jack about Jack

Timeline:

Giacchino Michael "Jack" Ciattarelli is a Somerville native who was raised in Raritan, New Jersey, where his grandparents immigrated.

Ciattarelli earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance from Seton Hall University. He served on the Raritan Borough Council from 1990 to 1995 and was the council president from 1991 until 1995.

He also co-founded a medical publishing company in 1995, then sold the company before founding Galen Publishing a year later.

Ciattarelli served on the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners from 2007 to 2011, then resigned to serve in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing Central Jersey’s 16th District.

Gubernatorial races: third time's the charm

Ciattarelli initially ran for the New Jersey Governor's office in 2017 – he came in second place in the Republican Party gubernatorial primary, with 31 percent of the vote.

His second attempt in 2021 proved more successful; Ciattarelli won the Republican Party gubernatorial primary, but lost the general election to incumbent and current New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. He received 48 percent of the vote to Governor Murphy's 51 percent.

He is now running a third time, and has received an endorsement from President Trump.

"Jack Ciattarelli is a terrific America First Candidate running to be the next Governor of a State that I love, NEW JERSEY!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Here is a list of all the New Jersey gubernatorial candidates this year.

Current platform

What we know:

Ciattarelli's campaign is focused on New Jersey's affordability crisis – his plan includes capping property taxes at one percent of a home's assessed value and reducing state spending by 30 percent.

He also hopes to entice a younger demographic to move to the state by refunding the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for any person who attends college in New Jersey.