New Jersey in play for President Trump (Opinion)

The 45th president, Donald Trump, is running for the highest office in America again. Despite being hated and vilified by the corporate media and many Republican back-room elites, he is surging in polling across the country.

The polls show him headed to a convincing win in the upcoming primaries in 2024 and head-to-head with President Biden in key states. The numbers are so strong that even Republicans on Capitol Hill are now being pressured to give up the effort to stop or disparage Trump as he is surging toward victory.

Of course, two New Jersey Republicans who are likely to announce their runs for governor in January, Jon Bramnick and Jack Ciatterelli, are solid "Never Trumpers."

Ciatterelli, for his part, has been attacking Trump back to the 2026 primary, saying that Trump is "unfit for office" and a "Charlatan" who is embarrassing the country.

Ciatterelli is also the guy who claimed he lost to Murphy in 2021 because his campaign was "too white."

Good grief, you'd think the GOP can do a little better next time.

Is this guy the answer?

Of course, Jon Bramnick is hoping he's the answer, but again, a guy who is telling people that the GOP can't win if Trump is elected will have to encounter the same issue that cost Jack the election in 2021, Trump voters, who numbered 1.8 million in 2020, will smartly call out the actual charlatans in the race.

Bramnick also supported Phil Murphy's attorney general pick, Matt Platkin — yes, the guy who sued schools to push the gender/sexualized curriculum AND remove parents from the conversation.

Beyond Trump, Bramnick has other issues that may hurt him including the ethical questions surrounding a bill that he pushed with the Democratic Senate President and the potential personal income windfall that both men may be enjoying from their legislative action.

This is where and what will decide the nominee

Let's not forget that in 2020, Donald Trump won decisive victories in GOP counties which will decide the next nominee for governor. Monmouth, Hunterdon, Ocean, and Sussex all saw Trump perform ahead of expectations for "blue" New Jersey.

Let's not forget, that before the governor forced the mail-in election of 2020, Trump also racked up victories in Morris and Gloucester in 2016 in a much closer race.

Looking at the state of the nation's endless funding for Ukraine with an unclear strategy at best and a leader in Zelensky who, given past actions and future threats, is not much better than Putin. The nation is in trouble for sure, the crisis of the open southern border, fentanyl deaths, homelessness and violence in our cities, the attack on parental rights, debt, rising crime, and inflation that has millions of families struggling to stay above water.

It's a perfect recipe for a Republican to replace Biden.

Add to this a high-profile leader being tapped to head up the New Jersey effort and there is no reason why NJ can't flip from blue to red in the national election.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew was tapped by President Trump to head up the effort to regain the White House in New Jersey.

The reality is that Trump doesn't have to win New Jersey to make it a factor. The Democrats cannot afford to lose any blue states, so if the election gets close, they will have to focus spending and activities on states they should be able to take for granted.

Listen to my conversation with Jeff Van Drew here:

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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