Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore, who runs the strongest Republican machine in New Jersey, has endorsed Bill Spadea for governor in next year’s primary.
“If we don’t make the right choice and elect the right people, this country is going to go so far down and this state is going to go so far down, I don’t know if we’ll be able to save it,” Gilmore said at Spadea’s campaign kickoff in Ocean County. “This is a time we all have to rise to the occasion and make sure we get the best person in the office, so it’s with that fact that I ask you to do everything you can to support Bill Spadea and his campaign.
Support from Gilmore is no surprise; he’s been advising Spadea for the last few years, and Jack Ciattarelli worked to stop Gilmore from returning to the county chairman position in 2022.
Gilmore mocked Ciattarelli, whose campaign put up signs along the route to Spadea’s kickoff.
“I’m sure you noticed as you drove here, there was another candidate that had various signs that came along the way. Now, to me, it’s not common sense to try to impact people that are coming to see Bill Spadea announce to vote for you makes no sense at all, but he wasted his money,” Gilmore said.
According to Gilmore, Ciattarelli is afraid of Spadea.
“Before he ever indicated he was going to run for governor, he was thinking about it. They knew it. They all assumed it would happen next year if he ran. They started to attack. And now why do you attack somebody that’s not a candidate?” Gilmore asked. “Because you’re afraid of them. That’s why you’re afraid of what he stands for. You’re afraid of the connection he’s developed with the people of the state of New Jersey.”
Spadea was also endorsed by Manchester Mayor Rob Arace, a candidate for Ocean County commissioner this fall.
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial contest.