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Battle for governor in closely watched election may be headed for a photo finish
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With the November election just 15 days out, the Republican nominee in one of the nation’s only two races for governor this year is feeling confident.
«The energy across the state is electric. The reception in minority communities has been great, and on being endorsed by prominent Democrats, that tells you all you need to know in terms of the people of New Jersey wanting change. And that’s what this election is all about. Change,» Jack Ciattarelli said this weekend in an interview on «Fox News Sunday.»
Ciattarelli, who’s making his third straight run for Garden State governor and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, has good reason to be optimistic he can pull off victory in blue-leaning New Jersey.
In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, three public opinion polls released last week — from Fox News, Quinnipiac University and Fairleigh Dickinson University — indicated Ciattarelli narrowing the gap with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the race to succeed the term-limited Murphy.
THE POLITICAL BOMB TRUMP EXPLODED IN THE NEW JERSEY SHOWDOWN FOR GOVERNOR
Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for governor in New Jersey, speaks to supporters at a diner in Saddle Brook, N.J., on Oct. 15, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The Fox News poll conducted Oct. 10 – 14, put Sherrill at 50% support among likely voters, with Ciattarelli at 45%. Sherrill’s 5-point advantage was down from an 8-point lead in Fox News’ September survey in New Jersey.
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential election, and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year’s midterm elections.
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And this year, they’re being viewed, in part, as ballot-box referendums on President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and combustible second-term agenda.
While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections.
President Donald Trump, seen speaking during a campaign event at Wildwood Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, May 11, 2024, will headline a tele-rally for Jack Ciattarelli, the 2025 Republican gubernatorial nominee in the Garden State. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by only six percentage points, a major improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier.
Ciattarelli, interviewed by Fox News Digital last week in Bayonne, New Jersey, noted that he «made big gains» in his 2021 showing «in Hudson County and Passaic County,» two long-time Democratic Party strongholds.
«And the President did very, very well in ’24 in those very same counties. And if you take a look at who’s been endorsing me, including some very prominent Democrats here in Hudson County, people want change,» Ciattarelli emphasized.
But Ciattarelli is also aiming to energize Republican base voters in what’s likely to be a low-turnout election.
Multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump will hold a tele-rally with Ciattarelli ahead of Election Day. Trump’s teaming up with Ciattarelli may help energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.
Republican gubernatorial candidate in Ohio Vivek Ramaswamy headlines a campaign event for New Jersey GOP nominee for governor Jack Ciattarelli, on Oct. 15, 2025, in Saddle Brook, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
And last week, Ciattarelli was joined at a jam-packed diner stop in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, by Vivek Ramaswamy, the MAGA rock star who is running for governor next year in his home state of Ohio.
Ramaswamy, the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and conservative commentator who pushed an «America First 2.0» platform as he ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before ending his bid and becoming one of Trump’s top supporters and surrogates, told Fox News Digital that a Ciattarelli win this year would «set the table for even bigger and more decisive victories, hopefully in places like Ohio next year.»
And this week another well-known Republican politician in MAGA world is headed to New Jersey.
Fox News has learned the Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a top House ally of the president who has Trump’s backing as he runs next year for Florida governor, will team up with Ciattarelli on Wednesday.
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Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, commenting on why Republicans feel bullish about the New Jersey showdown, raised concerns.
«New Jersey is the best place, probably, for Donald Trump to actually stop the Democratic momentum — or at least minimize the Democratic momentum that we’ve seen throughout this year,» Martin said in a Politico interview.
But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) forecasts a Sherrill victory in two weeks.
«As numerous polls show her holding a strong lead and earning more than 50% of the vote, Mikie Sherrill is rising to meet the moment in this incredibly competitive race,» DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy told Fox News. «It’s clear that Mikie has the momentum, and that New Jersey voters are all-in to reject Ciattarelli for a third time this November.»
Sherrill had plenty of company on the campaign trail this weekend from major Democratic Party surrogates, including two of the biggest names in the party — Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie of New Jersey, left, teams up on the campaign trail with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Mikie Sherrill campaign )
«From Maryland to New Jersey, we’re united with one goal – making sure every voice is heard at the ballot box,» Moore wrote on social media. «Proud to stand with @MikieSherrill and community members in Newark to get out the vote. Let’s finish strong this November!»
And former President Barack Obama endorsed Sherrill and starred in a new ad for the party’s nominee.
CIATTARELLI WELCOMES TRUMP’S HELP IN FINAL STRETCH IN BATTLE FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR
While Trump isn’t on the ballot, he’s loomed large over the New Jersey gubernatorial election.
At the second and final debate two weeks ago, Sherrill charged that her GOP rival had «shown zero signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he’s shown every sign of being that.»
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill, right, and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, on the stage moments at the start of their second and final debate, on Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)
Asked whether he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was «part of a New Jersey movement.»
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When asked to grade the president’s performance so far during his second term, Ciattarelli said, «I’d certainly give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything that he’s doing.»
«I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli’s supporting. I give him an F right now,» Sherrill responded, as she pointed to New Jersey’s high cost of living.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in New Jersey, takes questions from reporters following a debate on Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The race in New Jersey was rocked a couple of weeks ago by a report that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, mistakenly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information like her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally.
But Sherrill’s military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal.
The showdown was jolted again two weeks ago after Sherrill’s allegations that Ciattarelli was «complicit» with pharmaceutical companies in the opioid deaths of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans, as she pointed to the medical publishing company he owned that pushed content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain.
Last week, Trump set off a political hand grenade in the race, as he «terminated» billions of federal dollars for the Gateway Project, which is funding a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York.
Sherrill, holding a news conference Thursday at a major commuter rail station just a few miles from the site of the tunnels in one of the busiest train corridors in the nation, called the project «critical» as she took aim at Trump and Ciattarelli.
«I’m fighting for the people of New Jersey. He’s fighting to excuse Trump. It’s unacceptable,» Sherrill charged.
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New Jersey traditionally elects a governor from the party out of power in the White House, which this year favors the Democrats.
But Garden State voters haven’t elected a governor from the same party in three straight elections in over a half century, which would favor the Republicans.
One of those political trends will be busted in next month’s election.
jack ciattarelli,mikie sherrill,donald trump,elections,2025 2026 elections coverage,new jersey,gubernatorial,campaigning
INTERNACIONAL
Jaulas, túneles y fosas: familiares de ex rehenes de Hamas en Gaza cuentan su duro cautiverio
El ex rehén israelí Elkana Bohbot junto a su esposa el día que regresa a casa después de salir del hospital, tras su liberación del cautiverio en Gaza, en Mevaseret Zion, Israel. Foto ReutersSin oxígeno
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As it was announced that Vice President JD Vance would visit Israel, President Donald Trump once again warned Hamas, saying the U.S.-brokered Gaza truce must hold, and issued another blunt warning to the terrorist group.
During a White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, Trump warned, «We’re going to eradicate them. If we have to, they’ll be eradicated. And they know that,» he told reporters, and stressed the deal’s broad backing — «59 countries that agreed to the deal» — while insisting the ceasefire remains in place and warning that any further violence would be met with decisive action.
While details of Vance’s trip to Israel have yet to be announced, Washington’s diplomacy is extending beyond Jerusalem, as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Egypt from Israel for talks with Hamas representatives, underscoring a push to move from preserving the ceasefire toward negotiating the more fraught next phase.
ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS VIOLATED CEASEFIRE WITH ‘MULTIPLE ATTACKS’ LEADING TO IDF RESPONSE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and former National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
At Monday’s meeting with the Australian pm, Trump was asked by a reporter whether the U.S. would put boots on the ground, Trump said his administration does not plan to deploy troops and that other countries — and Israel itself — could act if needed.
«We don’t need to, because we have many countries, as you know, signed on to this deal,» he said. «We’ve had countries calling me when they saw some of the killing with Hamas, saying we’d love to go in and take care of the situation ourselves. In addition, you have Israel — they would go in, in two minutes. If I asked him to go in, I could tell him, go in and take care of it. But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance, and hopefully there will be a little less violence.»
He added a blunt warning about Hamas’ capacity and support. «But right now, you know, they’re violent people. Hamas has been very violent, but they don’t have the backing of Iran anymore… They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated — because absolutely we can, and we have the capacity to do so.»
The comments came as senior U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Israeli leaders to shore up the fragile, Trump-brokered, 20-step ceasefire plan after a weekend flare-up. Hamas terrorists killed two Israeli soldiers, prompting Israeli strikes against the terror group. Despite the violence, both Israel and Hamas publicly recommitted to the truce.
President Donald Trump, left, and Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, shake hands outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Oct. 20, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES
On the ground, the IDF took custody of the coffin of another deceased hostage. A joint IDF–ISA statement asked the public to «act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families,» while adding that, «Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.» Israeli officials say Hamas could hand over six more bodies immediately out of the 15 still believed in Gaza, though some remains may be impossible to recover amid widespread destruction.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in the Knesset, struck a hard line while stressing close U.S.–Israel coordination. He warned the fighting was far from over and said violations would carry a «very heavy price,» while praising the «unprecedented closeness» with Washington.
A group of Hamas terrorists in Deir-el Balah in central Gaza as 20 living Israeli hostages were freed on Oct. 13, 2025. (TPS-IL)
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Separately, the IDF said Southern Command troops have begun marking a so-called yellow line inside Gaza — 3.5-meter concrete barriers topped by yellow poles placed roughly every 200 meters — to establish «tactical clarity on the ground» as part of the ceasefire arrangement. The military said the marking will continue «in the coming period» as forces work to remove threats and defend Israeli civilians.
israel,donald trump,conflicts,middle east,terrorism,jd vance
INTERNACIONAL
Trump admin agencies coordinating to expose Biden admin’s ‘prolific and dangerous’ weaponization of government
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EXCLUSIVE: Trump administration agencies are working to expose the Biden administration’s «prolific and dangerous weaponization of government,» Fox News Digital has learned.
The Interagency Weaponization Working Group (IWWG) is made up of officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA and more.
Officials told Fox News Digital that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard initiated the Interagency Weaponization Working Group, which has been meeting biweekly since April to «share information, coordinate, and execute.»
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced on Tuesday the revocation of former intelligence officials’ credentials. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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«The American people made a clear choice when they elected President Trump — to stop the Biden administration’s prolific and dangerous weaponization of government agencies against the American people and the Constitution,» Gabbard told Fox News Digital. «I stood up this working group to start the important work of interagency coordination under President Trump’s leadership to deliver accountability.»
She added: «True accountability is the first step toward lasting change.»
Officials told Fox News Digital the group was created to streamline information sharing across the government in support of the Trump executive order.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is sworn in before a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
«Joe Biden’s Department of Justice targeted President Trump and anyone close to him, prosecuted pro-life advocates, treated parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists, and destroyed public trust in federal law enforcement,» Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Digital.
GABBARD FIRES ‘DEEP STATE’ HEADS OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TO ROOT OUT ‘POLITICIZATION OF INTEL’
«Under President Trump, we are working every day alongside our partners to end weaponization and restore one tier of justice for all,» Bondi said.
Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that, «for years, Biden’s DOJ turned federal law enforcement into a political weapon.»
FLASHBACK: HOUSE WEAPONIZATION PANEL RELEASES 17,000-PAGE REPORT EXPOSING ‘TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT’
«Going after President Trump, pro-life Americans, and parents at school boards while letting real criminals run wild,» Patel told Fox News Digital. «Under Preisdent Trump, we’ve ripped that agenda out by the roots.»
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 16, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Patel added: «We’re restoring equal justice under the law, one standard, one mission: Protect the American people.»
Officials involved pointed Fox News Digital to President Trump’s executive order, which says interagency coordination is needed to «ensure accountability for the previous administration’s weaponization of the federal government against the American people.»
GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY
The executive order had directed Gabbard, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies within the intelligence community, to «take all appropriate action to review the activities of the intelligence community over the last four years and identify any instances» of the weaponization of government.
Officials told Fox News Digital that the interagency group is «working to undo the Biden administration’s whole-of-government approach to abuse the powers of government against the American people.»
«The weaponization of government against Americans did not happen in one agency, one time,» an official explained. «It happened repeatedly over the duration of the Biden administration.»
Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, FBI Director Kash Patel, center, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, center right, are seen on Wednesday, March 5, awaiting Muhammed Sharifullah’s arrival in the U.S. following his arrest overseas. (Justice Department)
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«That’s why, in order to depoliticize and deweaponize the government, it is important to understand what agencies carried out, what roles, and why,» the official continued. «The IWWG is essential for coordinating across agencies.»
But officials said the media has attempted to «negatively spin lawful oversight and accountability» by claiming it is a way for the Trump administration to weaponize the government against its political opponents.
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«The irony is, accusing the Interagency Weaponization Working Group of targeting the president’s political opponents is classic projection and could not be further from the truth,» an official said.
The official said that there is «no targeting of any individual person for retribution.»
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«IWWG is simply looking at available facts and evidence that may point to actions, reports, agencies, individuals, and more who illegally weaponized the government in order to carry out political attacks,» the official said.
«The only people who fear accountability are the ones who never expected to face it,» the official continued. «Oversight is not the problem—abuse of power is.»
joe biden,tulsi gabbard,pam bondi,kash patel,justice department,cia,fbi
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