OPINION – President Trump’s influence has reshaped the Republican Party over the past decade from the grassroots all the way up to the halls of Congress. His endorsements have turned longshots into frontrunners, galvanized working-class voters, and redefined what it means to be a Republican in America. But in New Jersey, a blue state with a red-hot MAGA base, his silence in the 2025 gubernatorial primary could have detrimental consequences.
Today, the Republican nomination is teetering on a knife’s edge. One candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, is trying to stage the most expensive political reinvention the state has ever seen. Ciattarelli, who ran as a proud Never Trumper just four years ago, is now spending millions of dollars and deploying familiar names to whitewash his record. His top hire, none other than Kellyanne Conway, while still a respected figure in Trump world, is cashing in on trying to convince voters that Ciattarelli is suddenly a MAGA Republican.
But the facts do not lie. Ciattarelli’s record reads like a moderate Democrat’s playbook. A divorcee with allegedly multiple affairs and gag orders, Jack supported taxpayer-funded abortions, called for more gun restrictions, and went on the record dismissing Trump’s base as “a cult.” During his failed 2021 campaign, he repeatedly made it clear that he believed Trump was a liability, not an asset, in New Jersey. There was no ambiguity in any of his anti-Trump publicly stated positions. He ran away from the America First agenda as far and fast as he could. Now that the political winds have changed, so does Ciattarelli. He is spending beaucoup bucks to scrub his anti-Trump past and relying on a well-funded PAC led by expensive consultants like Conway to do the heavy lifting for him. But no hired gun, no matter how familiar her face, can erase the fact that Ciattarelli’s newfound “support” for President Trump is flagrant political opportunism.
On the other hand, Bill Spadea hasn’t changed a thing. He didn’t have to. A family man who just celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary, a former Marine, businessman, conservative radio host, and grassroots organizer, Spadea has stood with President Trump from the very beginning, not only when it was politically safe, but when it counted. His conservative message has energized New Jersey working-class families, small business owners, and suburban parents. He’s anti-establishment to the core, and most importantly, he’s genuine through and through. In a recent interview, President Trump told Bill unequivocally what everyone in the MAGA movement already knows: “You’ve been with me since day one.” That kind of loyalty can’t be bought at any price or spun by any consultant. That authenticity is why Spadea is resonating with the MAGA base in a way Ciattarelli never could even with all the money and media spin in the world.
But Spadea’s path to the nomination is not guaranteed. The establishment class in the NJGOP is still powerful despite the removal of the once cherished county chairs’ endorsements. The consultant crowd is circling the wagons and the big money donors backing Ciattarelli would love nothing more than for President Trump to stay silent, so they can continue pushing their repackaged “electable” threepeat candidate through the primary.
That is why Trump’s endorsement matters now more than ever.
President Trump has always defied the conventional wisdom, ignored the consultants, and trusted his instinct. He did not need focus groups to tell him that the American people were hungry for change, and he doesn’t need them now. This isn’t just a primary. It’s the first major referendum on the President’s second term; it’s also a decision on whether the MAGA movement in New Jersey will be led by someone who helped build it or someone who tried to stop it.
Mr. President, with your endorsement, Bill Spadea can win this race, energize the base, and give you a true America First ally in Trenton. The people of New Jersey don’t want a candidate who discovered MAGA after it became politically expedient. They want someone who’s been in the fight all along.
Don’t let paid consultants and poll-tested narratives steer this election. The MAGA Republican base in New Jersey is ready. They are ready to elect Spadea, all they need is your voice and your blessing. Let’s hear it!
George A. Nader, PE is an Engineer/Businessman and a County Committee person in the Morris Couty Republican Party.
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