Reaction to Trump meeting with NJ candidates for governor

UPDATE: GOP candidate drops out of race

The president seems to be wading into the New Jersey gubernatorial race.

Donald Trump met with leading GOP contenders separately at his golf club in Bedminster last week.

Trump and Jack Ciattarelli shared a few minutes over dinner on Friday, while Bill Spadea had a private conversation with Trump in the club's Men's Grill Room the following day.

Ciattarelli posted a photo with Trump following their chat. Spadea's meeting was first confirmed by the New Jersey Globe; the candidate did not publicly comment on it.

Ciattarelli vs. Spadea

The two men have each been courting Trump's endorsement ahead of the June 10 primary. Though Ciattarelli has opened up a solid polling lead over Spadea, Trump's backing could reshape the path to the nomination.

An internal poll from the pro-Ciattarelli super PAC Kitchen Table Conservatives found Trump enjoyed a 90% favorability rating with New Jersey Republicans, and 65% of GOP primary voters said they would be more likely to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who received the president's endorsement.

Trump's meetings with the prospective nominees drew some attention.

On Saturday, Spadea shared a post on X that blasted Ciattarelli’s meeting with Trump, calling it “a begging session and a photo op.” Ciattarelli has been silent about Spadea's time with the president.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, running for governor on the Democratic side, said on social media she attended a protest near Trump’s golf club Sunday, a day after Ciattarelli and Spadea were “kissing up” to the president. She added she went to Bedminster to "to rally with union workers against Trump and Musk’s attacks on New Jerseyans."

InsiderNJ summed up the social media impact of Ciattarelli's meeting:

"Trump backers and Ciattarelli backers loved it. Democrats delighted in it, convinced they can defeat the Republican gubernatorial candidates by tying him to the controversial sitting president...If Ciattarelli - now heavily favored to win the June 10th Primary - gets to the general election, he will win or lose New Jersey based on Trump's standing in November."

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