MOUNT OLIVE – It was a day for craft beer, a variety of subs, and for Jack Ciattarelli, a win.
Ciattarelli confirmed his frontrunner status last Saturday by winning a straw poll conducted by the Morris County Republican Clubs Alliance. (That is distinct from the county’s Republican Committee).
The tally was 42 for Ciattarelli, 20 for Bill Spadea, 8 for Jon Bramnick, 5 for Juston Barbera and 4 for Mario Kranjac.
The event took place at Jersey Girl Brewing, a brew pub near Budd Lake. Besides making a gubernatorial endorsement, the crowd also voted on which deli provided the best sub sandwiches. There were about five choices.
Said Ciattarelli in a social media post after the vote:
“Momentum continues in our fight to flip NJ red & deliver for the people of NJ.”
Spadea said before the vote Republicans need to do some thinking.
“We better nominate the right guy … who is up to the task,” he said.
Ciattarelli caused shock waves in GOP circles a few weeks ago circulating a photo of him with President Trump.
In the relatively speaking, distant past, Ciattarelli had been critical of Trump, but now says he is full-blown MAGA.
In fact, Spadea has been criticized for not being pro-Trump enough.
Spadea asked the audience not to believe “all the negativity” about him.
Bramnick did not attend. A surrogate spoke on his behalf.
Kranjac was on hand. The former mayor of Englewood Cliffs got into the race a bit late, but clearly wants to be seen as the most-Trumpy candidate.
In fact, his press releases often refer to him as a one time “Trumpy mayor.”
A recent release highlights a Web ad in which Kranjac talks about not imposing any COVID lockdowns in Englewood Cliffs.
Here is part of what he said:
“It’s very important for people to have medical freedom. If you want to get a vaccine, be my guest. That’s fine. If you don’t, that’s fine too. When it started, there were parts of our society that needed to be protected; the elderly and people with comorbidities. Everyone else was fine; it was the flu. I believe in science and I wish everyone who had required vaccines for everybody also believed in science. I wish our government, including Dr. Fauci and all the people around him, would not have funded the dual-use technologies that we’ve all suffered because of.”
Spadea, who apparently sees Kranjac as a threat from the right, challenged his nominating petitions, but to no avail.
Speaking of votes., in case you are wondering, the winner of the best sub contest was:
(Drum Roll). The Green Village Deli in Harding Township.
The post Ciattarelli Outduels Spadea in Morris Straw Poll appeared first on Insider NJ.
