“New Jersey’s ready to pop out of that blue horror show,” as President Donald Trump succinctly worded it. After years of governance by Democrat Phil Murphy, the New Jersey gubernatorial primaries will be held in under a week.

For Republicans, the primary has been dominated by a divide between MAGA conservatives and more establishment types, and it has shown the powerful influence of Trump on state politics. (RELATED: Tax Hikes and Upset Voters Could Be Clincher for GOP in New Jersey’s Governor Race)

During an interview with The American Spectator, gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea provided insight on what is required of a candidate in a transformed Republican Party. 

Democrats vs. Republicans

New Jersey voters, like many voters in blue states, have been drawn to more conservative candidates in recent years.

“Even in former blue states where you still have a majority blue registration, commonsense is having a comeback,” Spadea said. “The Democrats have gone so far left that they have alienated normal Americans.”

In 2020, Trump lost New Jersey by 16 points to Joe Biden. In 2024, Trump closed that gap, losing to Kamala Harris by only 6 points. Even New Jersey Democrats called November a “red wave” in state voting. Phil Murphy himself attributed his narrow reelection to his party’s lack of communication about “economic and kitchen table topics.” Such issues include illegal immigration, crime, and public safety, all of which were associated with Republican candidates last election cycle.

But Spadea said what Murphy never will: “The Democratic Party at the state level has gone way too woke.”

New Jersey is home to an estimated 440,000 illegal immigrants and some of the highest tax rates in the nation. New curricula and school board politics are met with frustrated parents. It is easy to assume that the uptick in red voters is a referendum on New Jersey’s liberal governance. (RELATED: How to Stop Sanctuary City Insanity)

The Establishment vs. New Conservatism 

Spadea positions himself as an opponent of establishment Republicans. “Insiders wrecked the [Republican] party and gave rise to Donald Trump,” he told The American Spectator. 

Spadea claims that his main opponent in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Jack Ciattarelli, is one such insider.

“You have a choice … between a political insider in Jack Ciattarelli who will literally say anything that he thinks you want to hear,” Spadea said. “He has supported men changing their birth certificates to pretend they are women…. This is a Democrat posing as a Republican.”

The Power of MAGA

Even in this liberal state, both Spadea and Ciattarelli sought Trump’s endorsement by pitching themselves as the true Trumpian option. When Trump endorsed Ciattarelli, it drew national attention, particularly because Ciattarelli has a history of disparaging the president. 

Trump’s endorsement of Ciattarelli shows the power of the president’s political presence and the shifts his movement has wrought: Even a candidate like Ciattarelli, who previously felt Trump should not assume office, ardently sought Trump’s approval to aid in his state election.

Spadea told The American Spectator that the president “endorsed based on a poll and not a plan.” Polls in New Jersey show that Ciattarelli has taken the lead among the GOP candidates. 

In a Truth Social post endorsing Ciattarelli, Trump said that “after getting to know and understand MAGA [Jack] has gone ALL IN, and is now 100%.” Ciattarelli said that the president’s endorsement was a “really big deal” to him and appreciated by voters, citing the ways Trump has bettered the Garden State. 

Trump’s influence is further evidenced by Spadea’s refusal to back down from highly conservative policies, even in a state that very recently voted for Joe Biden by a 16-point margin.

“I still believe that the America First agenda [is] the right one for the state,” Spadea told The American Spectator. “I still support President Trump, and I support his agenda.”

The ‘Right Republican’

If a Democrat is elected in New Jersey this November, residents will remain entrenched in the high financial and ideological costs of living in an extremely liberal state.

According to Spadea, electing the wrong Republican could be just as treacherous.

New Jersey’s election of a Republican, he explained, “will signal that New Jerseyans have changed the Republican party by bringing in conservative, commonsense, independent thinkers.” But, Spadea warned, this will only happen if it is the “right Republican.”

Regardless of who wins the race Tuesday, Republicans face a tough road ahead. Democrat candidate and likely nominee Mikie Sherrill has the highest current favorability rating of all candidates.

Madison Fossa is an editorial intern at The American Spectator.

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