What would Jack Ciattarelli’s policies mean for New Jerseyans struggling with high costs?

As New Jersey’s candidates for governor crisscross the state to make their campaign pitches in the final weeks before the Nov. 4 election, high living costs have emerged as a major issue between Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee, and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee. 

A Rutgers survey released in July found that half or more of New Jerseyans are struggling to afford necessities like groceries, rent, health care, utilities, and mortgage. Garden State residents previously spoke with the New Jersey Independent about finding it difficult to make ends meet and being especially worried about health care costs in the wake of congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump slashing funding for Medicaid in their One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

While families face rising child care, housing, food, and energy prices, Ciattarelli is facing criticism for backing Trump’s tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, both of which are increasing costs for households in New Jersey and throughout the country and are expected to continue to do so in the coming years. On top of that, Ciattarelli has expressed openness to revising the state’s sales and income taxes.

In interviews throughout his campaign, Ciattarelli has supported Trump’s tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s budget law that is expected to cause hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans to lose their health insurance, thousands of families to lose food aid, and increases in energy costs in the Garden State. Sherrill has criticized the tariffs, saying they’re driving up costs for New Jersey businesses, and, like every other congressional Democrat, voted against the law. 

In a Sept. 8 interview with Fox affiliate television station My9’s “New Jersey Now,” the interviewer asked for Ciattarelli’s thoughts on Trump’s tariffs.

“The president’s trying to hit the reset button on the trade imbalance,” Ciattarelli said. “He did say there might be some short-term pain for the long-term gain.”

Jersey Shore business owners told the Asbury Park Press that the tariffs have made it difficult to plan for their business in the wake of tariffs that are making grocery and other costs rise across the country. Business owners in New Jersey’s “Little India” in Edison and Iselin said they are seeing fewer customers after they had to raise consumer prices to offset tariffs.

New Jersey households are also facing rising costs after congressional Republicans passed Trump’s budget law. During a May 22 radio interview with Dawn Stensland, Ciattarelli backed the legislation, signed into law by Trump on July 4. Republicans passed the law in an effort to pay for Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

“Shame on any Republican across the country that doesn’t support this; the president supports it,” Ciattarelli said in the interview, which took place prior to Congress’ passage of the bill.

The New Jersey Department of Human Services said the law will leave up to 300,000 New Jerseyans without health care due to mandatory work requirements imposed on those covered by Medicaid, the national health care insurance program that provides coverage for low-income individuals. That potential loss of coverage would mean higher out-of-pocket health care costs for those Garden State residents, the Center for American Progress said in a report published on Aug. 6.

Additionally, thousands of New Jerseyans are expected to lose benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides financial assistance for low-income individuals to purchase groceries. More than 800,000 New Jerseyans receive SNAP benefits, according to the Department of Human Services. Almost half of those receiving SNAP benefits are children, nearly one-third have a disability, and one-fifth are over the age of 60.

New Jerseyans will also see their electricity costs rise by an average of $160 starting in 2026 due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act terminating federal clean energy tax credits, according to the Center for American Progress. Its report said that, by 2030, Garden State residents will have to pay an average of $420 more for gasoline each year due to increased demand for oil resulting from the law’s rollback of vehicle emission guidelines and termination of federal programs to help consumers buy electric vehicles.

Ciattarelli could more directly affect costs in New Jersey by eliminating the state income tax and increasing the sales tax, including on groceries and clothing. During a June 4 campaign stop in Bergen County, Ciattarelli described encountering a 10% sales tax during a visit to Tennessee. The current New Jersey sales tax rate is 6.625%, and does not apply to most grocery store food items and clothing.

After Democrats said Ciattarelli had proposed a 10% sales tax for New Jersey, the candidate denied that he had and responded: “Listen, given the tax structure in New Jersey, it does not work. And so I think all options should be on the table. But that doesn’t mean I’m putting in a 10% sales tax, including on food and clothing.”

Should New Jersey eliminate its income tax, as Ciattarelli has discussed, it would have to find a way to make up for that loss of revenue to pay for public services like roads, health care and education.