Introduction
This upcoming November, New Jersey finds itself in a highly contested gubernatorial election between Mikie Sherrill, who most recently served the 11th congressional district of New Jersey in the House of Representatives, and Jack Ciattarelli, who is known most for his success in business. Ciattarelli also served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly and was defeated in a gubernatorial election by a narrow margin in 2021.
New Jersey is typically known as a blue state, having voted for a democratic candidate in the presidential election since 1988, and while they previously had a republican governor in Chris Christie, who served from 2010-2018, electing Ciattarelli would see a shift in policy that would align more with President Trump’s administration.
The race has drawn heavy attention on social media with residents and non-residents alike sharing their opinions and pushing narratives that favor their candidate. X, formerly Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram are especially active on a daily basis with posts of new polls, news, and statements regarding the election.
Education is a bigger issue than in other races
While education is normally a talking point in elections, especially at the state and local level, New Jersey’s state school funding formula will be crucial to the results of the election. According to a realtor in New Jersey John Natale, under the handle @thejohnnatale on Instagram, the suburban parts of New Jersey are fed up with the policy that has seen their districts receive substantially less funding over the last ten years under former Governor Phil Murphy’s administration.
This has led to schools being shut down, staff being laid off, and as Natale said in his video “people pay to be in New Jersey for their schools.”
Campaign marketing strategies are driving discourse on social media
In any election, candidates have unique strategies to appeal to the electorate in order to try to sway voters. In this election, the candidate Jack Ciattarelli and those around his campaign have used a peculiar strategy, especially pertaining to Ciattarelli’s most recent rally in Wildwood, NJ, which was on Oct. 10. Benny Johnson, a strong endorser and right-wing podcaster who has followed his campaign trail, posted the flyer which features Ciattarelli, Scott Presler, another right-wing influencer, and himself are photoshopped onto the “Goodfellas” movie poster.
This move was met with confusion and criticism, shown by a user @mancuzz0, who describes himself as a person that enjoys movies and speaking about the world. “If anyone looks at this and thinks this is a good example of a governor then you missed the entire point of the movie,” said the creator in his video, “the fact that they’re using ‘Goodfellas’ to represent this campaign is telling.”
There is a national interest due to the implications After the result
As mentioned in the introduction, New Jersey has been seen as a blue state for over three decades. However, President Trump made significant ground in the 2024 Presidential Election in which he only lost the state by 5.9%, opposed to the 15.9% in 2020.
If New Jersey were to elect Ciattarelli, a Trump backed candidate who shares a lot of his views on policy, then it would indicate that New Jersey could be seen in the future as a state that is not securely blue.
One of those policies would be President Trump’s hard stance on immigration with the increase of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Michael McDaniel, @mikemcdaniel689 on TikTok, is a user who posts about politics frequently and has 36,000 followers. He commented in a video on why ICE has not been as present in New Jersey as other blue states.
For reference, he said that New Jersey's immigrant population is more than Massachusetts and Oregon combined, both of which have seen an increase in ICE agents compared to New Jersey, according to McDaniel.
He believes that the Trump administration is waiting to send in ICE agents because of the unpopularity it would bring surrounding Ciattarelli’s campaign, but should he win agents will be there immediately after.
Conclusion
In the current political state of the United States, every election matters at all levels of government. The gubernatorial election in New Jersey, however, has garnered this much attention on social media due to the shift it would represent from the status quo. If New Jersey were to elect Ciattarelli, policies that had been in place for decades would likely be modified or overhauled. If New Jersey elects Sherrill, then it shows that the electorate is willing to build on the predecessor’s progress instead of moving in opposite directions.