Sherrill and Ciattarelli clash in final New Jersey governor debate

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Less than a month into the competitive and heated race for governor in New Jersey, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli battled in their second and final debate over Sherrill’s military record, Ciattarelli’s business career and his support for President Donald Trump.

The showdown in the race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in New Jersey, which has become increasingly bitter in recent weeks, ended with fierce debate on Wednesday.

In a heated exchange, Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of profiting from the opioid crisis and claimed he had “killed tens of thousands of people” through his ties to educational materials sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.

And Ciattarelli fired back by saying Sherrill “broke the law,” noting the fine Sherrill paid four years ago for not disclosing stock trades in a timely manner; As members of Congress must do under federal conflict of interest law.

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New Jersey and Virginia are the only states that retain this status governorship contests It’s a year after the presidential election, which means races traditionally garner a lot of national attention.

And this year’s showdowns at the polls are seen as important early tests of Trump’s popularity and second-term agenda, and are considered important barometers ahead of next year’s midterm elections for the U.S. House and Senate.

The two candidates attacked each other on key issues, including New Jersey’s sky-high energy costs, property taxes, immigration and the ongoing federal government shutdown.

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And although he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump came to the fore in the debate.

Ciattarelli, who is seeking the GOP nomination after receiving Trump’s endorsement earlier this year, was asked where he disagrees with the president.

“I disagree with the president on the Empire Wind Farm on Long Island,” the Republican candidate replied.

Moments later, Sherrill said his GOP opponent “has shown zero signs of opposing this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he’s shown every sign of that.”

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill stands on stage at the start of her second and final debate on October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

Ciattarelli responded, “In times of need, it’s best to engage with whoever is sitting in the White House, and that’s what I’ll do.”

Asked to rate the president’s performance so far in his second term, Ciattarelli said, “I would definitely give the president an A. I think he’s been right in everything he’s done.”

“I guess that tells us everything we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli supports. I’m giving him an F right now,” Sherrill responded, noting the high cost of living in New Jersey.

Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and certified public accountant who founded a medical publishing company before entering politics and winning election as a state lawmaker, is running for a third consecutive term for governor of New Jersey. And he drew national attention four years ago when he came close to upsetting Murphy.

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Ciattarelli’s connection to opioid manufacturers was first revealed during the 2021 campaign. Ciattarelli sold his company in 2017, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain.

“By publishing your misinformation, your propaganda, you are trying to distract from the fact that you killed tens of thousands of people,” Sherrill charged. “I think our children deserve better. I think the people you addicted to and died of deserve better than you.”

Ciattarelli said, “Everything my family has said about my professional career, which provides for me, is a lie. I am proud of my career.”

“Shame on you,” Ciattarelli added.

Sherrill retorted, “Shame on you, sir.”

Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli on stage at the start of their second and final debate on October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

Cittarelli later blamed former President Joe Biden’s “open border” policies for the fentanyl crisis.

At the press conference held after the debate, he claimed that Sherrill’s attack was “a desperate tactic of a desperate campaign on behalf of a desperate candidate.”

Asked after the debate if he had any evidence directly linking Ciattarelli to the opioid deaths, Sherrill told reporters: “I think he hasn’t said much about it. I think there’s a lot we don’t know. I think he continues to be very transparent about it.”

During the debate, Ciattarelli fired back at Sherrill by saying, “I need to walk at my college graduation,” referencing controversy over Sherrill’s military records.

The race was shaken up two weeks ago after a report in the New Jersey Globe showed that Sherrill’s military records had barred him from attending its 1994 graduation because of a cheating scandal.

Sherrill claimed Ciattarelli launched a “witch hunt” over his improperly disclosed military records, raising questions about his possible involvement in a cheating scandal that rocked the U.S. Naval Academy three decades ago.

Ciattarelli and his campaign have repeatedly called on Sherrill, who piloted a helicopter throughout his military career after graduating from the Naval Academy, to release his military records to explain why he was prevented from attending the graduation ceremony.

New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli takes questions from reporters after the debate on October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

But a separate report from CBS News found that the National Personnel Records Center, a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, mistakenly released improperly redacted military personnel files containing private information such as Sherrill’s Social Security number to an ally of Ciattarelli.

The National Archives apologized to Sherrill in a letter two weeks ago, saying the improper release was the result of a government employee’s error in a legal records request.

Following the breach of records, Sherrill’s campaign sent cease and desist letters to the National Archives and to Ciattarelli’s campaign, as well as Russell and Nicholas De Gregorio, who was described by Sherrill’s team as “a campaign operative working at the direction of Russell.”

The Sherrill campaign also launched a campaign. digital advertising He targets Ciattarelli.

“They broke the law to attack a veteran,” the narrator there charged.

Asked why he did not attend graduation, Sherrill said during the debate: “I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t go to graduation because I came from an incredibly responsible place. But I went on to graduate. I was commissioned an officer in the United States Navy.”

And he reiterated that he did not want to give Ciattarelli and his campaign access to the records of his Naval Academy classmates.

And he asked, “Why has my opponent still not taken responsibility for the release of these records? Under federal investigation, a member of his staff, someone he hired as lieutenant governor, actually had access to these records, said he was shocked and disgusted, but still sold them to reporters when asked, pretending he had no idea what his campaign was doing.”

“So he’s either really incompetent or he’s lying,” he defended.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey, takes questions from reporters after the debate on October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, N.J. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Ciattarelli immediately responded and urged Sherrill to release his records.

“We know for a fact that he wasn’t allowed to attend the graduation ceremony. We know for a fact that his name wasn’t on the graduation drill program. He says it was because he didn’t turn in his classmates. That’s the honor code at West Point. That’s not the honor code at the Naval Academy. You don’t get punished for that. I think he was punished for something else,” he argued.

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In blue-leaning New Jersey, Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections, while Republicans are fiercely competitive in gubernatorial races, winning five of the last ten elections.

And in the 2025 race, political history favors both parties.

The party that wins the White House tends to lose the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections the following year, favoring the Democrats. But Democrats in New Jersey are also trying to defy history; It’s been more than six decades since one party won three consecutive Garden State gubernatorial elections.