New Jerseyans aren’t always civil, but it’s still possible for a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican to have a rational and pleasant conversation about politics in the state. Dan Bryan is a former senior advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and is now the owner of his own public affairs firm, and Alex Wilkes is an attorney and former executive director of America Rising PAC who advises Republican candidates in New Jersey and across the nation, including the New Jersey GOP. Dan and Alex are both experienced strategists who are currently in the room where high-level decisions are made. They will get together weekly with New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein – or, this week, with New Jersey Globe Washington reporter Joey Fox – to discuss politics and issues.
Thank you both for your comments at the gubernatorial debate. It’s always helpful to have smart people around. Now that we’re all not as rushed, I’d like to hear what you thought of Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill’s debate performance.
Alex Wilkes: In our business, Dan and I often advise clients to “answer the question you want to answer.” If we’re being honest, we usually say that when there’s a sticky subject we’re trying to avoid or a gaffe-prone candidate. That’s what Mikie did, but not very well. Just like in the primary debates, Mikie delivered meandering Washington-style word salads that make your eyes glaze over and cause you to seriously question whether or not she has the capability to govern a state as complex as New Jersey.*
Jack, on the other hand, made it look effortless to answer the question that was actually asked. He’s able to do that because he is authentically, unapologetically Jack in every diner, church, and house in this state. I think for the undecided voters tuning in, here’s an instance where you do get points for answering the questions and showing your work. Jack even gave her several opportunities by pointing out when she did not address the underlying question – or entire topic at hand – and you would see her freeze out of fear of going off-script or – more tellingly – alienating a special interest group she can’t afford to lose.
Jack looked calm and in command of the issues. Mikie came in a little hot, in my opinion, often leaping forward to answer a question (I had a side view), but that’s what happens when hours of preparation and coaching weigh heavily on your brain: it comes out like word vomit (tinged with a strange midwestern twang no one can quite explain).
On another note: congratulations to NJ Globe, ONNJ, and Rider University for another well-produced, professional debate!
*Standard disclaimer: not a gendered analysis. If Cory Booker had been on that stage, for example, talking about love, puppies, and certain Thracian gladiators, I would be even more unkind.
Dan Bryan: In 2021, Jack Ciattarelli put forward two solid debate performances. He was loose, quick on his feet, and well prepared. I think those two debates with Governor Murphy are about as well-contended on both sides as any we’ve seen.
But in 2025, Ciattarelli seems…different. He’s tighter. He lost his train of thought a few times, he screwed up a few answers, and he’s taking cheap shots (like the one against trans children – quite an example he’s setting).
Mikie, on the other hand, defied expectations yet again. For the fourth debate in a row, her opponents won the pregame shit-talking contest, while she saved her energy and excelled on debate night. She was sharp, engaging, and nimble as she went on offense early against Ciattarelli and laid out her agenda throughout the night.
I don’t know if any debate will swing an election, but I think it’s pretty clear that Jack underwhelmed and Mikie shined.
The National Archives and Records Administration released a record with some of Mikie Sherrill’s personal identifiers, and I haven’t heard from anyone who thinks that’s OK. But was this a devious plot hatched by Donald Trump and the White House to help Jack Ciattarelli win, or simply a mistake by a bureaucrat handling Freedom of Information Act requests?
Dan: It’s hard to know where this administration’s incompetence ends and their malfeasance begins – we know both exist in spades. But with the amount of safeguards that are in effect to ensure this doesn’t happen, especially to a member of Congress, it’s very hard to see this as anything other than an intentional weaponization of the federal government, something this Administration is all too happy to do.
But whether incompetence or malfeasance, it leads to the same outcome: a chilling effect on anyone who dares defy this administration, and total disrespect for a Navy veteran’s military service.
Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign took an illegally-obtained document that included Mikie’s Social Security number and personal information about her 80 year old parents and shipped it around to multiple media outlets. That is repulsive.
In a way, this disgrace does more to lay out the differences between the two candidates than either campaign ever could: one candidate will be fully and completely controlled by the Trump White House and would happily dox any of our personal information for their political gain, and the other won’t.
Alex: Okay, I’m sorry, but I am laughing out loud at the idea that Donald Trump sat on the patio at Bedminster this summer and singled out a bureaucrat at the National Archives to authorize the release of confidential information in a FOIA request. Her attempts to tie this back to the President are good for fundraising and trying to desperately galvanize a base who has to be reminded to clap for her at her own events – but let’s be serious: will undecided voters who have heard just about every accusation that can ever be made about one person be persuaded by this? No.
This clerical error from the Archives shouldn’t have happened, particularly because it’s occurred more than once over the last few years against candidates on both sides of the aisle. I welcome my liberal friends reading this to join me in a lifetime of skepticism and dislike of the ever-expanding federal government! Never too late!|
And, yeah, if I were trying to deflect attention away from a massive scandal that strikes at the heart of all my little helicopter-adorned signs, I’d probably try this, too.
Mikie Sherrill says she didn’t walk in her Naval Academy commencement because she was being punished for not turning in a friend during a cheating scandal. I’m asking this question of the two of you not as partisans, but as crisis communications professionals: If she didn’t do anything wrong, should she just authorize the release of her disciplinary files (if any exist at all) and prove it?
Alex: From a professional standpoint, it’s a bad story, and sometimes that calls for not getting clever, but being practical and taking the path of least resistance. In this case, I think it’s releasing the files (unless there is something even worse in there).
The “I wasn’t a snitch” answer here doesn’t really put out the fire. In fact, it raises the possibility that when faced with upholding a sworn oath to the country or protecting friends, you would do that in political office if you faced trouble. A guy named Phil Murphy did just that on his 2017 campaign when he promoted and covered for top aides who created a hostile work environment towards women on his campaign, including a sexual assault.
No one I know believes her military service, in general, is anything but commendable, but we are allowed to ask questions about her record, particularly when she has made it the centerpiece of her campaign.
That is especially true for a good friend of mine who made the lawful FOIA request for her records and was smeared for doing so by the Sherill campaign. In their desperation to obfuscate this serious issue, they tried to sully the name of a fellow veteran who served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Allow me to explain the difference to Team Mikie: the guy you tried to smear faced the Taliban in combat; your candidate can’t even face legitimate questions from reporters.
Dan: I apologize to all of my friends in the media and those in the Republican party, but I’m not going to get pulled down into a slanderous news cycle of pure, unadulterated bullshit. |
Here are the facts: Mikie Sherrill graduated from the Naval Academy and was made a Navy helicopter aircraft commander, serving her country for nearly a decade in the military with honor and distinction. She then served our country again for years as a federal prosecutor, and then again in the United States Congress. In other words, in addition to her military service, she has dedicated her entire adult life to service to her country.
Meanwhile, what has perpetual political candidate Jack Ciattarelli been up to? He spent decades as a career politician, raising taxes in Somerset County and enabling Chris Christie’s wildly destructive agenda in Trenton. He made millions off of the opioid crisis, profiting while New Jersey families suffered. And more recently, he’s been running for Governor again…and again…and again.
You know what Jack Ciattarelli doesn’t want to talk about? A positive agenda to help New Jersey families that are living through a historic affordability crisis. Instead, it’s gutter politics and personal slander against a decorated military veteran.
Maybe that’s why he keeps losing.
So while I apologize to the New Jersey press corps and all of the brave right-wing trolls on Twitter, I will not be involved in any attempt to further denigrate a decorated military veteran’s service to their country with swiftboat bullshit. Nor should any of us.
Who won the week: Mikie Sherrrill or Jack Ciattarelli?
Dan: Mikie Sherrill won the debate, continued building a winning coalition at events throughout the state, and kept a cool head while the extreme right did all they could to slander her service to the country. She wins the week.
Jack Ciattarelli disgraced himself and dragged his campaign into the sewers. He lost the week, and he’ll lose (again) in November.
Alex: Whether at the debate or in the press, Mikie Sherrill was put on the defensive this week just as voters are starting to pay attention. And while Republicans are all jaded by public pollsters at this point, I would imagine that for Democrats, Emerson showing a tie in September would be kind of a tough pill to swallow. All-in-all: a net positive for Jack.
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