Exclusive | RNC surges resources to NJ during final stretch of tightening governor’s race between Ciattarelli, Sherrill

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — The Republican National Committee is surging resources to New Jersey ahead of the hotly anticipated gubernatorial election as polls show a tight race between Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

The RNC now has 50 county captains spearheading election integrity efforts, over 15,000 volunteers and five full-time staffers on the ground, as well as a new get-out-the-vote platform — VotePro — aimed at giving Ciattarelli a critical boost, The Post has learned.

“Democrats have spent a fortune with nothing to show for it, proving this governor’s race is up for grabs,” RNC Regional Communications Director Delanie Bomar told The Post.

“Republicans are unified in our sprint to the finish line, and we are delivering more boots on the ground, ramping up voter contact and keeping our elections secure.”

That’s a significant uptick from the 2021 governor’s race, when the RNC only had two full-time staffers on the ground in the Garden State. Additionally, the election integrity efforts are new.

Ciattarelli’s team has taken advantage of those resources, including using the VotePro tool to zing Sherrill (D-NJ) over women’s sports. The tool informs voters of poll locations and other key information.

Throughout the 2025 cycle, the RNC fired off lawsuits demanding log data from voting machines in the primaries and challenging the County Clerk’s ballot redesign.

The RNC has also helped ensure special monitors conducted county-wide election integrity tests in Camden, Hunterdon and Morris Counties.

“In 2021, the New Jersey governor’s race was not a priority for the chairwoman at the time,” a national Republican strategist told The Post. “That is not the vibe this election cycle. The RNC sees how important this race is now and is making it a priority.”

The New Jersey Republican Party has similarly acknowledged that “the national party engagement is a marked shift from Ciattarelli’s 2021 race.”

Four years ago, Ciattarelli had shocked political observers when he came within about three points of then-incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, dramatically overperforming the polls.

Historically, Democrats have not held the New Jersey governor’s mansion for more than two consecutive terms in the modern era.

Sherrill is widely seen as the frontrunner in the governor’s race, with a 2.7 percentage point lead over Ciattarelli in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

Additionally, Democrats are outpacing Republicans with registered voters casting mail-in ballots and in-person early votes, 53% to the GOP’s 29%, while 18% had another affiliation, according to data compiled by DecisionDeskHQ director of data science Michael Prusser.

For comparison, when the dust settled in 2021, registered Dems accounted for 44% of mail-in ballots and in-person early voting, compared to 33% Republicans and 24% with another party affiliation.

Sherrill is getting a boost from top Democratic stars, most significantly, former President Barack Obama, who is set to stump with her in Newark on Saturday.

Others, such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), have made or plan to rally with Sherrill during the election homestretch.

The DNC has injected over $3 million into the New Jersey governor’s race.