Spadea not backing down after Trump endorses against him

Former radio host Bill Spadea’s campaign for governor was dealt a colossal blow tonight after President Donald Trump endorsed his rival, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) – but Spadea says he’s not going anywhere.

“Donald Trump’s endorsement comes after a years long effort by Jack to lie about his own record. My resolve to fight for the people of New Jersey has never been greater,” Spadea said. “I intend to continue fighting for the America First agenda because that is what’s best for the state and our nation.”

Spadea, a former 101.5 morning drive host who has tried to pitch himself as Trump’s most trustworthy New Jersey defender, also noted that Trump’s endorsements don’t have a perfect track record in New Jersey; last year, Trump’s preferred candidate for U.S. Senate failed to make it through the primary, an unusual occurrence that Spadea hopes will repeat itself on June 10.

“Remember, in the last year, not one, but two New Jersey candidates failed to capitalize on an endorsement from President Trump and lost big,” Spadea said. “Given Jack’s history as a repeat loser, I believe it will be three losses in a row.” (The two unsuccessful Trump-endorsed candidates are Christine Serrano Glassner, who lost the Senate primary, and Don Purdy, who failed to unseat anti-Trump Republican National Committeeman Bill Palatucci last summer.)

Ciattarelli and Spadea, the top two Republicans running for governor, have both been angling for months to receive the president’s endorsement for their campaigns – an endorsement that, in modern Republican primaries, can often make or break candidates. Both have also spent plenty of time attacking one another as insufficiently pro-Trump, highlighting various audio clips and quotes featuring past critiques of the president.

Ciattarelli, who has been running for governor nearly nonstop since 2016, does in fact have a complex relationship with Trump, keeping him at arm’s length during his 2017 and 2021 campaigns. The feelings between the two were bad enough that a year ago, Trump criticized Ciattarelli on a radio program hosted by none other than Spadea, whom Trump seemed at the time to regard much more fondly.

But Ciattarelli has used the year since then to rebuild that relationship, speaking with Trump personally at Bedminster earlier this year and positioning himself as much more of a Trump ally than he ever had before. He also has the advantage of widespread name recognition and institutional connections from his prior runs, which have helped propel him to enormous leads in every public poll of the race.

Despite Spadea’s defiance, Trump’s endorsement only cements Ciattarelli’s lead even further, and makes it harder for any of his rivals to claim the GOP mantle for themselves; some Ciattarelli allies are already calling for Spadea to end his campaign entirely.

“President Trump said it best – Jack is the best candidate to ‘STAND TALL against the Radical Left Democrats’ and ‘ensure a Big victory,’” Carlos Cruz, a spokesman for the pro-Ciattarelli super PAC Kitchen Table Conservatives. “We call on Spadea to do the right thing tonight – endorse Jack, drop out of the race, and return the millions in taxpayer provided matching funds propping up his failed campaign.”

Three other Republicans are also running for the governor’s office: State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) has long been an anti-Trump Republican, which makes him a tough sell for many primary voters (not to mention for Trump himself), while contractor Justin Barbera and former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac have failed to make much of a dent.