Flipping a blue state sounds eminently doable in our brave new world of President Trump. He has knocked the Democrat party flat on its corrupt ass with a flurry of executive orders, bills, and foreign policy changes that are designed to remake our economy, culture, and relationship with the rest of the world. The Democrats are scrambling everywhere, and it is a gratifying thing to see!
But the GOPe, or failed Republican Party, or whatever you want to call them is still a powerful force in many states, and their sclerotic vision for America has created significant issues for the Trump Doctrine. And no more so than in NJ, which has a pathetic, useless, feckless, corrupt state Republican apparatus.
The proof is their perennial candidate for governor, Jack Ciattarelli. He ran in 2017 and 2021, and obviously lost both times, the second time in the general election to a pathetic, chinless scumbag Goldman Sachs apparatchik who is the quintessential machine Democrat.
But hope springs eternal in the Garden State! I guess the third time will be the charm.
New Jersey's Blue Wall Is Crumbling, and Democrats Know It
New Jersey, a state that reliably votes blue in national elections, has long been considered a Democratic stronghold. But the political winds have shifted. The party that once took victory for granted now finds itself in a full-blown panic, pouring cash into a race that should have been an afterthought. The reason? Voters are restless, and the Democratic brand is tarnished.
This isn't just about one election. It's about the growing sense that Democrats are losing their grip on New Jersey. Donald Trump's support in New Jersey has grown with each election, hitting a record 1.9 million votes in 2024.
Sounds great! Except Ciattarelli is a machine politician without a coherent political philosophy other than he wants to be governor. He was an anti-Trumper until he saw which way the wind was blowing, but even then he tried to titrate his responses to keep the image of a maverick. Like when he denied knowing that a "Stop The Steal" rally he headlined was...you know...a "Stop The Steal" rally!
He offers nothing other than the GOPe pablum with a dash of faux-Trump muscularity to keep the base interested. He also has presented nothing substantive to combat the obvious crookedness of NJ elections. And if you dip into his policy statements, you will discover a central planner in disguise.
Can he win? Sure. Will he win? I doubt it. He is a boring politician without a clear message for New Jersey: otherwise known as a typical Republican. He is running against another boring politician, Mikie Sherrill, but she has the massive backing of the Democrat machine that will manufacture votes in whatever way it can to ensure her victory.
Until the Corporate Republican Party recognizes that it is not business as usual, it will continue to lose these sorts of races, because its lack of vision into the sea change that is possible in the United States prevents them from supporting the types of candidates that will be successful in Trump-curious areas.