GOP candidates push for edge in final gubernatorial primary debate

In the final debate of the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night, frontrunner Jack Ciattarelli fended off attempted moves from two competitors hoping to close the gap by Election Day.

Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, former radio host Bill Spadea, and State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) qualified for the debate. Ciattarelli entered the debate as the frontrunner, leading in polls and touting his recent endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Tuesday night’s largely substantive debate was not nearly as fiery as the February cage match of a debate, but Spadea regularly jabbed at Ciattarelli as he tries to establish himself as the strongest conservative in the field. Bramnick, who moonlights as a stand-up comic, garnered laughs throughout the night, including at the expense of his opponents.

The two-and-a-half-hour debate broke into three sections: affordability and taxes, education, and crime. The Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat. Voters are already submitting ballots for the primary, and Election Day is June 10.

Spadea, who for months courted the president’s endorsement, was quick to counter Trump’s support for Ciattarelli, touting himself as the stronger supporter of the president’s platform.

“Let me be very clear, the president endorsed a poll, a poll that was conducted and paid for by Jack Ciattarelli,” Spadea said. “The president did not endorse a plan. The president did not endorse a set of principles.”

Ciattarelli stuck to his message.

“President Trump endorsed me because he knows I’m the only person that can unify our party,” Ciattarelli said to open his remarks. “He endorsed me because of the energy I bring to the campaign, he endorsed me because the money we’re able to raise to deliver a win, he endorsed me because of the coattails, he endorsed me because I’m the only person who can beat the Democrats in November.”

Bramnick, the Trump-skeptic moderate of the group, expressed faux dismay at missing out on the president’s support.

“I did not get the endorsement from Donald Trump,” Bramnick joked. “I waited up late at night — no phone call.”

On the budget, the state senator thinks he could have cut $5 billion in “Christmas tree” items over the past seven years, and would do so as governor.

“When I’m governor, I’m going to tell you, there’s no pork, man,” Bramnick said. “If you want to shut down the government, that’s fine. Unless you stand up and you say, ‘This party is over,’ that’s where we’re going to get the cuts.”

Spadea said he thinks there’s enough fraud and waste in the state budget to cut it down to $46 billion from the current levels of $58 billion, including a $1 billion cut in support to Rutgers University. Ciattarelli did not provide a specific budget number.

About 30 minutes into the debate, a woman carrying a pair of signs stood and yelled, interrupting the debate. She called for a ceasefire in Gaza, for action on climate change, and for protection of SNAP benefits, among other issues. She was escorted from the building in handcuffs.

“I’m used to hecklers in comedy clubs,” Bramnick joked. “Where’d she learn where to whisper? In a helicopter?”

Tuesday night’s debate was the second of a pair of debates sanctioned by the Election Law Enforcement Commission. NJ Spotlight News, NJ PBS, and WNYC sponsored the first debate last week. The New Jersey Globe hosted a non-ELEC-sponsored debate in February.

Two other candidates — former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and contractor Justin Barbera — did not raise the $580,000 needed to qualify for the debates. Barbera attended the debate, in fact, but was escorted out of the building after demanding to be included in post-debate press gaggles (one person said he threatened to storm the stage).

At moments, the debate devolved into mini absurdities, like during a short spat over whether Spadea has inappropriately hung up on people calling into his radio show. Before the debate, one supporter sounded an air horn — organizers were quick to threaten their removal, and the blare was not heard again.

On crime, the Republicans positioned themselves as effective and tough.

The three candidates each agreed to return the death penalty to New Jersey. Former Gov. Jon Corzine signed a law repealing the death penalty in 2007; the trio said they would repeal that law, and Bramnick said he’s pushed for the death penalty during his time as a legislator.

Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba charged Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) with assaulting and impeding law enforcement as federal police attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for allegedly trespassing at a migrant detention center earlier this month. The trespassing charges against Baraka were dropped, and the candidates said they support Habba in her prosecution of McIver.

“I hope she is charged to the full extent of the law and serves whatever punishment is appropriate,” Spadea said. “We need to protect our members of law enforcement.”

Spadea said it was “too bad” that the charges against Baraka were dropped, while Ciattarelli said he trusted Habba’s judgment in dropping those charges.

“I’m not an attorney, so I trust her judgment,” Ciattarelli said. “I think she’s done the right thing thus far, and that includes charging this congressperson for aggravated assault.”

Bramnick said he doesn’t like that public officials have been arrested and that justice must be heard, but still believes the case could be straightforward.

“If the video shows a congressperson or anybody else obstructing the arrest of an individual, that’s what the law is,” Bramnick said. “I also saw they dropped the charges against Ras Baraka. That’s pretty quick — I’ve represented people on trespassing charges, that was pretty quick. So it sounds as if maybe those allegations weren’t so strong.”

The candidates also dissed the 2017 bail reform package, which they argue isn’t tough enough on criminals.

On education, the candidates pushed for school choice vouchers and increased parental involvement in the schools.

“What matters most is the teacher and the parent,” Ciattarelli said. “Of course, the curriculum matters too, and we’ll change that under Governor Ciattarelli when I call for the resignation of all those that sit on the state Board of Education.”

The trio generally supported the right of teachers to transfer their tenure between school districts, which they generally cannot do.

“As a proud graduate of Plainfield High School and the Plainfield public system, I support transferring tenure,” Bramnick said. “If you earn tenure, I don’t think it makes any difference what school you’re at.”

The New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey, Rider University, and Save Jersey sponsored the debate, hosted at the Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology in Newark. Laura Jones of On New Jersey moderated the debate; David Wildstein and Joey Fox of the New Jersey Globe, Micah Rasmussen of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, and Matt Rooney of Save Jersey served as panelists.