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Final faceoff: Democrat, Republican nominees in key race for governor blast each other on debate stage
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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — With under one month to go until Election Day in New Jersey’s competitive and combustible race for governor, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli battled over Sherrill’s military record, Ciattarelli’s business career, and support for President Donald Trump during their second and final debate.
The showdown in New Jersey in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, which turned increasingly bitter in recent weeks, played out at Wednesday’s acrimonious debate.
In one heated exchange, Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of profiting off the opioid crisis, claiming that he «killed tens of thousands of people» through his ties to pharmaceutical industry-backed training materials.
And Ciattarelli fired back that Sherrill «broke the law,» as he pointed to a fine she paid four years ago for failing to timely disclose stock trades, as members of Congress are required to do under federal conflict-of-interest law.
TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER 2025 ELECTIONS
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill, right, and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli on the stage at the start of their second and final debate on Oct. 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, N.J. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser )
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial contests the year after a presidential election, which means the races traditionally grab outsized national attention.
And this year’s ballot box showdowns are viewed as crucial early tests of Trump’s popularity and second-term agenda, and are considered key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm elections for the U.S. House and Senate.
The two candidates took shots at each other over key issues, including New Jersey’s sky-high energy costs, property taxes, immigration, and the ongoing federal government shutdown.
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And while he isn’t on the ballot, Trump loomed large over the debate.
Ciattarelli, who cruised to the GOP nomination earlier this year after landing Trump’s endorsement, was asked where he disagrees with the president.
«I disagree with the president on the Empire Wind Farm for Long Island,» the Republican nominee answered.
Moments later, 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, on the stage moments at the start of their second and final debate, on Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser )
Ciattarelli shot back that «in times of need, it’s best to have a relationship with whoever occupies the White House, and I will.»
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.
Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics and winning election as a state lawmaker, is making his third straight run for New Jersey governor. And four years ago, he grabbed national attention as he came close to upsetting Murphy.
BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN RIPS DEMOCRATIC RIVAL FOR BLAMING ‘EVERYTHING ON TRUMP’
It was during the 2021 campaign that Ciattarelli’s connection to opioid manufacturers first surfaced. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017.
«You’re trying to divert from the fact you killed tens of thousands of people by printing your misinformation, your propaganda,» Sherrill charged. «I think our kids deserve better. I think the people you got addicted and died deserve better than you.»
Ciattarelli responded, saying, «With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided for my family, it’s a lie. I’m proud of my career.»
«Shame on you,» Ciattarelli added.
Sherrill shot back, «Shame on you, sir.»
Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli on the stage at the start of their second and final debate on Oct. 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, N.J. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser )
Cittarrelli then blamed the fentanyl crisis on former President Joe Biden’s «open border» policies.
And at a post-debate news conference, he claimed the attack by Sherrill was «a desperate tactic by a desperate campaign on behalf of a desperate candidate.»
Sherrill, asked after the debate if she had proof directly linking Ciattarelli to the opioid deaths, told reporters, «I guess he’s not really expressed anything about this. I think there’s a lot we don’t know. I think he continues to not be very transparent about it.»
Ciattarelli, during the debate, fired back at Sherrill, saying, «I got to walk at my college graduation,» as he referred to the controversy surrounding Sherrill’s military records.
The race was rocked two weeks ago after a New Jersey Globe report revealed that Sherrill’s military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid the cheating scandal.
Sherrill has claimed that Ciattarelli was going on a «witch hunt» over her improperly released military records, which raised questions about her possible involvement in a cheating scandal that rocked the U.S. Naval Academy three decades ago.
Ciattarelli and his campaign have repeatedly called on Sherrill, who went on to pilot helicopters during her military career after graduating from the Naval Academy, to release her military records to explain why she was prevented from attending her graduation ceremony.
But a separate report from CBS News revealed 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.
The National Archives, in a letter two weeks ago, apologized to Sherrill, saying the improper release was due to a government worker’s error over a legal records request.
Following the breach of the records, Sherrill’s campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to the National Archives and to Ciattarelli’s campaign, as well as to Russell and Nicholas De Gregorio, who is described by Sherrill’s team as «an agent of the campaign working at the direction of» Russell.
The Sherrill campaign also launched a digital ad taking aim at Ciattarelli.
«They broke the law to attack a veteran,» the narrator in the spot charged.
Sherrill, asked why she didn’t attend her graduation, said at the debate, «I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk at graduation because I come from an incredibly accountable place. But I went on to graduate. I was commissioned an officer in the United States Navy.»
And she reiterated that she does not want to give Ciattarelli and his campaign access to the records of her Naval Academy classmates.
And she asked, «Why my opponent still won’t take accountability for the release of those records. It’s under federal investigation that a member of his team, someone he vetted to be his lieutenant governor, actually got access to those records, said he was shocked and disgusted, and yet nevertheless shopped them out to reporters when he was asked about it, he acted as if he had no idea what his campaign was doing.»
«So either he’s really incompetent or he’s lying,» she argued.
Ciattarelli quickly responded, calling on Sherrill to release her records.
«We know for a fact that she wasn’t allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. We know for a fact that her name was not listed in the commencement exercise program. She says it’s because she didn’t turn in classmates. That’s the honor code at West Point. That’s not the honor code at the Naval Academy. You don’t get punished for that. I think she was punished for something else,» he argued.
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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 ten elections.
And in the 2025 race, political history favors both parties.
The party that wins the White House tends to lose the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections the following year, which favors the Democrats. But Democrats in New Jersey are also trying to buck history — it’s been over six decades since a party won three straight Garden State gubernatorial elections.
donald trump,jack ciattarelli,mikie sherrill,phil murphy,2025 2026 elections coverage,gubernatorial,new jersey,elections
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Sri Lanka began offloading 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel a day after 87 people were killed and several others were still missing following a U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the same region.
«After detailed discussions with all parties, Sri Lanka has decided to assist the Iranian vessel,» Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told reporters at a press briefing in Colombo, Reuters reported.
Among the crew members being offloaded the ship, which is near the port of Colombo, were 53 officials, 84 cadets, 48 senior sailors and 23 sailors, Dissanayake said.
Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal. (AP Photo)
The Iranian ship, the IRIS Dena, was sunk Wednesday off Sri Lanka’s coast in the Indian Ocean. Officials there have dispatched two freezers to store 87 bodies recovered at sea.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the ship was «effectively neutralized» in a Navy «fast attack» using a single Mark 48 torpedo. He added that the U.S. Navy achieved «immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.»
TRUMP OVERSEES US STRIKES ON IRAN FROM MAR-A-LAGO, SPEAKS WITH NETANYAHU: WH
An injured Iranian sailor is moved on a stretcher at Galle National Hospital, where the sailors are receiving treatment, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, March 5, 2026. (Reuters/Thilina Kaluthotage)
Iran contends the ship was sunk in international waters without warning.
«The U.S. will bitterly regret the precedent it has set,» Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X.
Iran has asked Sri Lanka to assist with the repatriation of the bodies.
Sri Lankan officials said the Dena was on its way home after taking part in a naval exercise organized by India in the Bay of Bengal from Feb. 18 to 25.
Healthcare workers unload the bodies of Iranian sailors from a vehicle who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
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Search and rescue operations would continue for an estimated 10 people who remain unaccounted for, they said.
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House Democrats largely voted to allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown to keep going on Thursday, shrugging off Republicans’ concerns about the increased domestic terror threat amid the U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran.
It comes hours after President Donald Trump shocked Capitol Hill by ousting DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and appointing Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as his replacement.
But that did not stop the vast majority of Democrats from voting against a bipartisan DHS funding bill aimed at funding the cabinet agency through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Nearly identical legislation already passed the House in January, but House GOP leaders wanted to force the vote again in light of heightened national security concerns within the country’s borders.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on Nov. 3, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
While largely symbolic, it shows Republicans’ pressure strategy is falling on deaf ears as the left continues to protest President Donald Trump’s strategy to combat illegal immigration.
The bill was the product of original bipartisan negotiations that followed the longest-ever full government shutdown in U.S. history, which ended in November after 43 days.
It would fully fund all aspects of DHS while also including new guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demanded by Democrats, like a body-worn camera mandate and new required training on public engagement and de-escalation.
But Democrats walked away from the deal en masse amid fallout from Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which saw two U.S. citizens shot and killed by federal agents during anti-ICE demonstrations there. The operation has since ended.
Democratic leaders are still insisting on withholding their caucus’ support, however, until further restrictions are put on ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on the ground in various cities.
A person holds an image of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iranian demonstrators protest against the U.S.-Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 28, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signaled to reporters that Noem’s ouster was not enough.
«It’s not like Kristi Noem was the one who was involved in negotiating anything. She was a corrupt lackey. So we were dealing with the White House before, and we’re going to continue to deal with the White House at this point,» he said.
Meanwhile, the resulting DHS shutdown has taken on new significance as the U.S. continues its campaign to take out Iran’s top leadership and its military sites.
Republican leaders are warning that keeping DHS in a shutdown state is dangerous for national security, given its jurisdiction over agencies that monitor threats from home and abroad.
SWALWELL PRESSED ON DEMOCRATS’ RESISTANCE TO FULLY FUNDING DHS AMID IRAN THREAT
«Now is the time to be vigilant at home and to ensure that all of our doors are locked, so to speak,» Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a press conference Wednesday. «And yet, as all this is happening, we have Democrats running around here playing political games in Congress. It’s infuriating. They’ve shut down the very agency that is responsible for securing the homeland.»
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses for questions from reporters as he arrives for an Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Republicans’ argument «insane» when asked by Fox News Digital earlier this week.
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«Donald Trump launches an unauthorized war in the Middle East. … He decides that he wants to spend billions of dollars to bomb Iran, rather than spend taxpayer dollars to lower the grocery bills that are crushing the American people, and then wants to use his unauthorized war as an excuse to continue spending taxpayer dollars to brutalize or kill American citizens by continuing to unleash ICE without restriction on the American people?» Jeffries posed. «I think it’s ridiculous.»
It’s the Senate, however, where passing that DHS funding bill is actually key to ending the shutdown. The upper chamber voted again Thursday on the original legislation that passed the House in January, but it failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster.
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INTERNACIONAL
Trump anticipó la caída de la dictadura de Cuba tras la ofensiva de Estados Unidos en Irán: “Es la guinda del pastel”
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, aseguró este jueves que el régimen cubano “está cerca de su final” y vinculó la crisis actual de la isla a la estrategia de presión económica implementada por su administración.
“Cuba caerá… Después de 50 años, eso es la guinda del pastel”, afirmó el mandatario en una entrevista telefónica con Politico.
Trump sostuvo que la grave escasez de combustible y productos básicos que vive actualmente la población responde al corte de suministros y petróleo venezolano, una medida que Washington considera clave en el debilitamiento progresivo de la dictadura cubana.
Según el presidente estadounidense, la política de endurecimiento de las sanciones ha logrado aislar a Cuba de su principal fuente de apoyo externo: Venezuela.
“Cortamos todo el petróleo, todo el dinero, todo lo que venía de Venezuela, que era la única fuente”, detalló Trump.
De acuerdo con el mandatario, la falta de recursos externos ha puesto al régimen en una situación límite, acelerando un proceso de cambio político que, según sus palabras, “ya no tiene retorno”.
“De lo contrario, no tendrían este problema”, subrayó en referencia al desabastecimiento generalizado.
En este contexto, Trump confirmó que existen negociaciones en curso entre Estados Unidos y La Habana, aunque aclaró que la iniciativa responde a la necesidad manifiesta del régimen cubano de recibir asistencia ante la profunda crisis económica.
“Necesitan ayuda. Estamos hablando con Cuba”, dijo el mandatario en su entrevista con Politico.
La crisis humanitaria en Cuba se ha agravado en los últimos meses. Tras la detención del narcodictador Nicolás Maduro a principios de enero, en una operación sorpresa liderada por fuerzas estadounidenses, Trump ordenó nuevas restricciones, incluyendo una orden ejecutiva que impone aranceles y sanciona a cualquier país que intente suministrar petróleo a la isla.
Estas medidas han profundizado el aislamiento internacional del régimen cubano y han restringido aún más el acceso a combustible, alimentos y productos básicos para la población.
“Es por mi intervención, la intervención que está ocurriendo”, dijo Trump.
Durante la entrevista, Trump utilizó el caso venezolano como ejemplo del posible desenlace en Cuba. Destacó que, tras la captura de Maduro, la relación bilateral con Caracas experimentó un giro sustancial, con la cooperación de la jefa del régimen chavista, Delcy Rodríguez, a quien definió como una interlocutora “satisfactoria” para los intereses estadounidenses.
“Venezuela lo está haciendo fantásticamente. Está haciendo un trabajo fantástico. La relación con ellos es excelente”, aseguró Trump.
El presidente también abordó la dimensión geopolítica de su estrategia. Según Trump, la presión sobre La Habana busca no solo el aislamiento económico, sino también un cambio de orientación política y económica en la isla, similar al proceso iniciado en Venezuela. Washington considera que la caída del régimen cubano alteraría de manera significativa el equilibrio de poder en el Caribe y fortalecería la proyección de Estados Unidos en la región.
Mientras tanto, la situación interna en Cuba continúa deteriorándose. Los reportes sobre largas filas para acceder a combustible, apagones extensos y escasez de alimentos reflejan el impacto de las sanciones y el corte de suministros externos.
Trump reiteró durante la entrevista que la inminente caída del régimen cubano será una de las piezas centrales de su legado en política exterior. “¿Cuánto hace que escuchas hablar de Cuba? ¿Cuba, Cuba? Por 50 años”, expresó el presidente, enfatizando que su administración ha conseguido lo que no lograron los gobiernos anteriores: llevar al régimen cubano a una crisis terminal.
(Con información de Europa Press)
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