Sherrill and Ciattarelli clash on costs, energy, transit and Trump in New Jersey governor’s debate as exchanges turn personal

Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli clashed sharply Wednesday night in their second New Jersey gubernatorial debate, sparring over affordability, energy prices, transparency, and President Donald Trump.

The hourlong exchange at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center highlighted deep divides on cost-of-living fixes, immigration, and education policy, and few moments of civility between the two.

Why it matters

The debate previewed the final stretch of a closely watched race for governor in a state where cost pressures, infrastructure funding and Trump’s lingering political influence are testing both parties’ messages heading into 2025.

Between the lines

• Sherrill aimed to frame Ciattarelli as aligned with Trump and corporate donors.
• Ciattarelli cast himself as a CEO-style reformer and argued Sherrill represents the status quo.
• The exchanges over abortion, education and immigration signaled clear cultural divides that could energize base voters on both sides.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli clashed for an hour over the cost of living, energy policy, transit, and President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in a fiery second New Jersey gubernatorial debate.

The debate was held at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center and co-moderated by Bill Ritter and Tamala Edwards. The two candidates offered starkly different prescriptions for a state they agreed has grown much too expensive for many residents.

“I’m laser-focused on driving down your costs and making New Jersey more affordable,” Sherrill said in her opening, sketching a day-one plan to “declare a state of emergency on energy prices to freeze rate hikes,” to “take on the PBMs — the middlemen who can drive up drug prices,” and to “go after landlords colluding to drive up rental prices.”

Ciattarelli countered by casting New Jersey as beset by multiple crises that require executive shake-ups.

“New Jersey, we need change. We need an honest, qualified, hands-on CEO governor who will bring that change,” Ciattarelli said. “We have an overdevelopment crisis in our suburban communities, an affordability crisis from property taxes and electric bills, a public-safety crisis because we don’t let our police do their jobs, and a public-education crisis because we’ve watered down the curriculum.”

Affordability front and center

Pressed by Edwards on what three steps she would take to ease the 14% premium New Jerseyans pay over the national cost of living, Sherrill repeated her rate-freeze pledge and broadened her case.

“Housing, health care, and utility costs — I’ll tackle them immediately,” Sherrill said, adding, “Quite frankly, my opponent won’t, because his top donor is under investigation for driving up rental prices.”

Ciattarelli called Sherrill’s solution to the energy emergency “an illegitimate plan that isn’t feasible,” insisting, “There are 77 incumbent Democratic legislators, 52 of whom are on the ballot this year, and not one has endorsed her plan to get electricity rates down on day one.”

He said he would take New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which he labeled “a carbon tax policy that has cost New Jersey $300 to $500 million a year,” adding, “Electricity is at its all-time high. The air is no cleaner, and ratepayer dollars are going to other states.”

Sherrill said none of his policies would actually drive down costs for anyone. She accused Ciattarelli of having “voted against over a billion dollars in property-tax relief” and of raising taxes “at every level of government in which he’s served.”

Ciattarelli noted that anywhere from 60% to 70% of property tax bills in New Jersey are to pay for public schools. He promised a new school-funding formula.

“My opponent voted no on the big, beautiful bill … you’re now allowed to deduct up to $40,000 of your property taxes on your federal tax return,” Ciattarelli said. “That too lessens the tax burden.”

Sherrill tried to tie Ciattarelli to Trump’s tax law and said it undermined the ability to deduct almost $30 billion in taxes for New Jerseyans.

Ciattarelli accused Sherrill of lying throughout the campaign, rejecting her claim that he would raise the sales tax. Sherrill said Ciattarelli is peddling misinformation.

Military records, transparency, and a personal turn

The debate moderators noted the National Archives had mistakenly released some of Sherrill’s personal information but also asked why she did not walk at graduation.

“I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk at graduation,” Sherrill said, emphasizing that she “went on to graduate and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy,” served as “a helicopter pilot [and] a Russia policy officer,” was a flag aide at the Atlantic Fleet “during the Cole bombing and during 9/11,” and “held the highest levels of security clearance.”

Sherrill accused Ciattarelli’s team of spreading her personal information. “Either he’s really incompetent or he’s lying,” she said in response to his claims about the handling of her information.

Ciattarelli pressed for broader disclosure. “If she’s so transparent, then approve the release of her disciplinary records at the Naval Academy, so we can know why it is she was punished,” he said. “We know for a fact that she wasn’t allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony … She says it’s because she didn’t turn in classmates. That’s the honor code at West Point. That’s not the Naval Academy.”

Sherrill said she refused to open “hundreds” of classmates’ records, calling his push a “witch hunt.”

Trump, Gateway, and grading the president

Trump’s imprint on the race hovered over multiple segments. Asked whether he identifies with the MAGA movement and to cite a Trump policy he supports and one he opposes, Ciattarelli said he agrees with the president on securing the border.

“I think that was a matter of national security,” he said. “I disagree with the president on the Empire Wind Farm off Long Island … He’s put a temporary halt on that. I will make it permanent when I’m governor.”

Ciattarelli insisted that “no matter who is in the White House, my job is to stand up for the 9.3 million citizens of this state.”

Sherrill argued that Ciattarelli “won’t say one cross word about the president,” noting Trump had called him “100% MAGA.” She tied that to regional infrastructure.

“When he froze Gateway Tunnel funding, Jack said that’s not a New Jersey problem,” she said. “I beg to differ … delays cost us a million dollars a day.”

Asked to grade Trump, Ciattarelli gave him “an A,” citing border policy, inflation “much lower than it was when Joe Biden was in,” a “temporary halt on the wind farms,” and pushing back on congestion pricing.

Sherrill gave him an F.

“At every single level, costs are going up on New Jerseyans, from a cup of coffee to the groceries you buy for dinner at night,” she said.

Transit, taxes, and the tools of government

Ciattarelli has proposed consolidating the Turnpike, Parkway, Atlantic City Expressway, and NJ Transit into a single Garden State Transportation Authority. During the debate, he argued the current shutdown would not immediately halt Gateway because “the Gateway Commission … seeks reimbursement from the federal government.”

Sherrill said the core issue wasn’t the shutdown but a presidential freeze on congressionally appropriated funds.

“I’d take him to court over it,” Sherrill said. “We already have shovels in the ground … Families have gone through summer of hell after summer of hell.”

On the broader economy, Ciattarelli said New Jersey “has always lagged the national average when it comes to unemployment,” attributing it to being “always ranked 48th, 49th or 50th to do business.” He pledged to “responsibly reduce the size and cost of state government” to afford tax cuts, “lower the highest business tax in the nation,” “lessen regulations without screwing the consumer,” align workforce pipelines, and “get electricity rates down.”

Sherrill turned the attack to character and past work, alleging he made millions publishing propaganda saying opioids were safe. She said he was paid to develop an app so that people who were addicted could more easily get access to opioids.

Ciattarelli snapped back, “Shame on you,” and said he was proud of his career.

Immigration and safety

Ciattarelli endorsed a “pathway to recognition,” not citizenship.

“Anyone who came here illegally and has committed a crime … has to go back,” he said. “Everyone else should be put on a pathway to recognition — some form of government-issued ID, so we don’t have people living in the shadows or working under a falsified Social Security number.”

Sherrill dismissed that as “not a real thing,” arguing for comprehensive reform.

“Secure the border [and] create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, TPS recipients [and] people who are working and paying taxes,” Sherrill said.

Ciattarelli promised to restore “a law-and-order state,” appointing the attorney general, “21 county prosecutors and the superintendent of the state police,” and argued that “cashless bail has created a professional criminal … who’s learned how to game the system.”

Sherrill said that unless there is an insurrection or some sort of crisis and the president invokes the Insurrection Act, military members should not be on U.S. streets. “It makes people less safe,” she said.

Education, abortion, and free speech

Both said pandemic learning loss remains unresolved, but their solutions diverged.

“We’ve got school districts where 80% of the kids are not on grade level,” Ciattarelli said, promising “educational choice” through vouchers and more charter schools and a “high-impact curriculum.”

“If your child is behind, they’ll spend the entire next marking period doing nothing other than reading, writing and math,” he said.

Sherrill said she had already “put in place high-intensity tutoring” at the federal level and worked with state lawmakers to expand it, combined with “third-grade [phonics] reading” and more school-based mental health resources.

On abortion, Ciattarelli said he has always supported “a woman’s right to choose,” but added support for parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. Sherrill said restrictions like those are causing preventable deaths, citing a Texas miscarriage case, and said he had voted to defund Planned Parenthood. Ciattarelli answered that funding should be shared instead of Planned Parenthood getting 100% of the money.

Ciattarelli said he will protect free speech if he is governor. Sherrill said she was worried by his judicial appointment rhetoric.

“My opponent has said he’s going to remake our New Jersey court like Trump remade the Supreme Court,” she said.

Ciattarelli called that “another lie,” saying he would appoint justices who agree with him “on issues like high-density housing.”

Even a lighter round underscored the strain. Asked for something they appreciated about the other, Sherrill cited Ciattarelli’s son’s military service. He cited her military service. Asked if they could add anything else, they were both silent.

One thing they could agree on was self-serve gas. Both opposed New Jersey offering self-serve gas, in line with the sentiments of the vast majority of state residents.

“Jersey girls don’t like to pump their own gas,” Ciattarelli said.

After the debate

Ciattarelli labeled Sherrill’s debate-night charges “from a desperate campaign.”

He reiterated a no-new-taxes pledge.

“It took 238 years to go from zero to a $36 billion budget, and over eight years we went from $36 billion to $59 billion — a 64% increase,” he said. “Government is bloated. I will responsibly downsize it so we can afford tax cuts for businesses and individuals. And we’re not raising any other taxes.”

On offshore wind, he said, “I’m not happy about the Empire Wind Farm off Long Island.” He said projects should be supported by medical and scientific research to prove or disprove claimed impacts.

Pressed on a claim from Sherrill that he supported a bill allowing rapists to have parental rights, he said the bill was so flawed it never even got out of the Legislature.

“That’s an area that I think judges should decide instead of creating a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said.

On the question of releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein, Ciattarelli said he supports releasing the files. On Venezuela policy, he said he doesn’t know enough about the issue to comment.

“All I’ll say is we welcome as many legal immigrants as possible in New Jersey,” he said.

Sherrill argued that Ciattarelli is “out of touch with New Jersey voters,” citing that “he gave Trump an A” and “defended the president’s decision to freeze the Gateway Tunnel funding.”

She said investigators at the Naval Academy “spoke to hundreds of people in my class, and when I did, I told them what I knew.”

Sherrill said Ciattarelli had a publishing business and published information saying opioids were safe.

“Propaganda from opioid companies when they knew that people were getting addicted and dying,” she said. “Then the opioid companies came to him to develop an app to show people what to say to their doctor so the companies could keep selling more, even to people who were addicted.”

Asked what evidence showed that Ciattarelli knew the harms at the time, she said, “There’s a lot we don’t know. I think he continues to not be very transparent about it,” adding the issue had been raised in the 2021 campaign and “we put some other stuff out on it.”

Sherrill said people shouldn’t be using plastic bags. Ciattarelli has criticized the plastic bag ban.

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has endorsed Sherrill for governor. Asked whether she would reciprocate and endorse Mamdani for mayor of New York, she declined.

“I’m not getting involved in the New York mayor’s race,” she said.

To make housing more affordable, especially for Black and Hispanic residents, she said she would expand the first-time homebuyers program. She called New Jersey’s Black maternal health outcomes “a huge issue,” pledged to “put a lot more resources into maternal health deserts,” and said she would support midwives and doulas and invest in more small OB-GYN practices in different communities.

This was the final governor’s debate before the Nov. 4 election. Read a full transcript of the debate on our website, and coverage of the first debate and that transcript as well.