First debate in 2025 New Jersey governor’s race set for Sept. 21
The debate is sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey and Rider University.
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill and her Republican counterpart, Jack Ciattarelli, will face off in the first debate of the 2025 governor’s race Sunday, Sept. 21.
Hosted by Rider University in Lawrenceville, the debate is sponsored by the New Jersey Globe and the streaming channel On New Jersey, and will be moderated by an assortment of New Jersey media figures: New Jersey Globe editor-in-chief David Wildstein and reporter Joey Fox; On New Jersey host Laura Jones; New Jersey Monitor reporter Sophie Nieto-Muñoz; and the director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics, Micah Rasmussen.
The debate, which will be conducted using a town hall format, will take place at 7 p.m. at the university’s Alumni Gym, according to a statement from Rider.
“We are enormously grateful to the Election Law Enforcement Commission for choosing Rider as a host,” Rasmussen said in the university’s statement. “It’s incredibly gratifying to work with the New Jersey Globe and On New Jersey to help educate voters as they choose who will run the state for the next four years.”
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission chose the debate application from Rider, the Globe and the On New Jersey out of nine proposals.
The debate will be streamed live on newjerseyglobe.com and onnj.com, as well as on C-SPAN.
For the nominees’ second debate, the state Election Law Enforcement Commission chose hosts WABC in New York, WPVI in Philadelphia, and the Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. That debate will take place sometime in mid-October, according to the New Jersey Globe.
The two candidates, Sherrill and Ciattarelli, offer voters a sharp contrast.
Ciattarelli, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, is a former General Assembly member who left office in 2018 and has run unsuccessfully for New Jersey governor two times.
Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor who was first elected to the House of Representatives from New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in 2018.
Ciattarelli’s website states he supports a ban on abortion at 20 weeks.
Sherrill has said she supports enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.
Ciattarelli has also in the past expressed support for Trump’s tariffs, calling them “a grand experiment.”
Sherrill recently said in a statement: “Donald Trump’s tariffs are a tax hike, plain and simple. They are raising prices on businesses, costing the average family $2,400 each year, and putting New Jerseyans out of work.”
