Anti-Trump Republicans New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick and radio host Bill Spadea are vying to become the first Republican to win the Garden State governor’s mansion since Chris Christie in 2009.
Bramnick and Spadea hope to replace outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who is term limited.
Bramnick is an avowed moderate Republican and hopes to flip the governor’s mansion red, albeit with his anti-Trump flare. He hopes to buck the trend as Republicans have increasingly embraced former President Donald Trump as the leader of the GOP.
“I’m going to represent the traditional values of the Republican Party, not simply the voice of one person,” Bramnick told Politico. “I don’t think one person, whether it’s Donald Trump or anyone else, should dictate the future of the Republican Party.”
Bramnick is also backed by some of the leading establishment figures of the GOP:
Bramnick’s announcement is accompanied by videos of support from three Republicans who have little to no involvement in New Jersey politics: Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner; former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush; and former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, a fellow Union County native who was New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney in the 1990s.
Missing from the video endorsements was one of Bramnick’s closest political allies: Christie, who left office in 2018 as the most unpopular governor since the advent of public polling.
In Politico‘s piece on the dynamics of the race, radio host Bill Spadea has been “making the rounds” for a potential gubernatorial bid. However, he is portrayed in the piece as a “pro-Trump radio host” even though he has been sharply critical of the 45th president.
Spadea said during a November 14, 2023, broadcast, “People give Trump a lot of credit for going after the deep state, the reality is, he didn’t. He failed, and he said this over and over again. Forget about your position on Donald Trump, he failed.”
Jack Ciattarelli, a former New Jersey Assembly member, said he intends to run for governor but has not formally announced.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
