NEWARK, New Jersey — Republican gubernatorial contender Jack Ciattarelli got a heart-warming surprise from his “biggest supporter” — his son, Army Capt. Jake, who returned home from Kuwait to give his dad a boost on election eve.
Ciattarelli had been rallying with voters in Murph’s Tavern, up in the northern part of the state, when his son Jake, dressed in his Army uniform, walked up to him and gave a hearty hug.
“You don’t know what I’m going to say right now, but your biggest supporter who serves his country just came over overnight to serve you,” Passaic County Republican Chairman Peter Murphy teased just before Jake’s entrance.
Ciattarelli looked a bit puzzled and asked, “Who’s here?”
Thunderous cheers and chants of “USA” erupted in the room as the GOP hopeful embraced his son.
Seemingly caught off guard, Ciattarelli made a few jokes about his son’s return.
“Now let me guess, you called the president yesterday. He sent Air Force One over to Kuwait and picked up Jack,” Ciattarelli joked. “And if I know the young man, he’ll probably be on a plane this afternoon back to Kuwait to defend our country.”
“What he probably forgot to do because he’s been so busy defending our nation, he probably forgot to get in his vote-by-mail ballot. He’s here to vote,” Ciattarelli said.
Jake later told reporters that he planned to remain in the US through Thursday to support his father. He has been serving in the Army as a captain since late 2023.
Ciattarelli has periodically mentioned his son’s service, posting a picture of him proudly pointing to a “New Jersey Ave” sign in the Middle East back in April.
Ciattarelli has a busy schedule Monday, with a planned tele-rally with President Trump later in the evening as well as a stop in Neptune City and a final rally in Raritan to close out the day.
The GOP gubernatorial hopeful is trailing Democratic foe, Rep. Mikie Sherrill by 3.3 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
