With less than a month before Election Day, the candidates for governor of New Jersey faced off on Wednesday in a final debate that showcased stark differences in how they plan to lead the state, an accusation of culpability in the opioid epidemic and a rare moment of comity on, of all things, self-serve gasoline.
The hourlong debate between Representative Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, and the Republican nominee, Jack Ciattarelli, also featured flash points over the Trump administration’s release of her military records and its decision to withhold $16 billion for construction of a new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River that is vital to New Jersey’s economy.
These were some of the key moments in Wednesday’s debate:
Opioids
The testiest exchange of the night centered on a claim by Ms. Sherrill that Mr. Ciattarelli had contributed to opioid deaths by spreading misleading information through a medical publication company, Galen Publishing, he once owned. Mr. Ciattarelli sold it, netting him millions.
“You killed tens of thousands of people by printing your misinformation, your propaganda,” she said.
The accusation was the culmination of a contentious back and forth, prompted by Ms. Sherrill stating that Mr. Ciattarelli “made his millions by working with some of the worst offenders and saying that opioids were safe.”
The attack seemed to offend Mr. Ciattarelli, who paused and turned to his opponent.
“Shame on you,” he said.
“Shame on you, sir,” Ms. Sherrill replied.
Mr. Ciattarelli then attacked Ms. Sherrill, linking her to the surge of migration that occurred during the Biden administration and calling it among the causes of the opioid crisis. He later defended his business, saying that he was proud of his career and calling Ms. Sherrill’s attacks a lie.
Ms. Sherrill continued to press, escalating her claims that “you then went on to kill tens of thousands of people in New Jersey, including children,” tenuously linking what she described as “misinformation” about the dangers of opioids published by Mr. Ciattarelli’s former company directly with drug-related deaths in New Jersey.
Mr. Ciattarelli interjected, saying, “I got to walk at my college graduation.” He was referring to Ms. Sherrill’s punishment, in the throes of a cheating scandal at the Naval Academy, that barred her from attending commencement exercises in 1994. Ms. Sherrill said she did not participate because she did not turn in some of her classmates, and that she had no involvement in the scandal.
He then claimed Ms. Sherrill “broke the law,” a reference to a $400 fine paid by Ms. Sherrill for being late to disclose her husband’s stock trades in 2021.
But Ms. Sherrill, aided by the debate rules that gave her the final response, appeared to have the last word. “What he never learned, despite walking at his graduation, was accountability, integrity, care for the community, and I think that disqualifies him,” she said.
As the moderators tried to move on, Mr. Ciattarelli talked over them, and the two candidates argued over their personal tax returns. The moderators, slightly exasperated, cut them both off and moved to a new topic as Mr. Ciattarelli let out a whistle.
“Getting desperate,” he said.
Ms. Sherrill’s Military Records
The race for governor was jolted in recent weeks by twin revelations.
First, that the Trump administration had released Ms. Sherrill’s full personnel record, largely unredacted, disclosing her Social Security number and performance evaluations. Then, that Ms. Sherrill had been banned from attending commencement exercises at the academy.
Unsurprisingly, the episode took center stage at Wednesday’s debate.
Ms. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, has made her military service a central component of her campaign. She has noted that two of her four children are enrolled at the academy, and that Mr. Ciattarelli did not serve in the military.
Asked about the cheating scandal by the moderators, Ms. Sherrill stated that she was not allowed to participate in the ceremony because she did not “turn in” classmates. “I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk at graduation, because I come from an incredibly accountable place,” Ms. Sherrill said, reiterating an explanation she has given before.
She quickly pivoted to an attack on Mr. Ciattarelli. “Here’s what I think: I think what really demands an answer is why my opponent still won’t take accountability for the release of those records.”
The records disclosed by the Trump administration, and later shared by Mr. Ciattarelli’s campaign with a news outlet, did not include information about the cheating scandal. Mr. Ciattarelli has said that Ms. Sherrill should release any disciplinary records that support her explanation.
“If she’s so transparent,” he said, “then approve the release of her disciplinary records at the Naval Academy so we can know why it is that she was punished.”
Her campaign has previously said it would not “release anything to Jack’s campaign in his clear attempt to smear a veteran.”
Mr. Ciattarelli’s Support for President Trump
In 2015, as Mr. Trump was campaigning for president, Mr. Ciattarelli — then a state assemblyman preparing to run for governor for the first time — was unsparing in his criticism of Mr. Trump, calling him a charlatan who was “not fit to be president.”
Mr. Ciattarelli has since fully embraced Mr. Trump, earning the president’s full-throated endorsement and an assurance that Mr. Ciattarelli was “100% (PLUS!)” MAGA. That’s put him in a potentially difficult spot in New Jersey, where a recent poll showed that 55 percent of residents disapproved of the way Mr. Trump is handling his job as president.
This vulnerability was laid bare last week when Mr. Trump suddenly froze funding for the new commuter rail tunnel known as Gateway. On Wednesday night Mr. Ciattarelli declined, as he has in the past, to criticize the president.
Ms. Sherrill challenged him during the debate on what she said was his refusal to stand up to the president to protect New Jersey residents.
“Jack won’t say one cross word about the president,” she said.
Mr. Ciattarelli said it was wise to have a relationship with the president, and he noted that during the pandemic Mr. Murphy went to Washington to ask Mr. Trump to supply ventilators.
“In times of need, it’s best to have a relationship with whoever is in the White House,” Mr. Ciattarelli said.
Asked what letter grade he would give the president, Mr. Ciattarelli said it would be an “A,” adding that Mr. Trump has “been right about everything that he’s doing.”
After the debate, when pressed for any point of disagreement with the president, Mr. Ciattarelli said he wanted Mr. Trump to be tougher on offshore wind farms in neighboring Long Island. He also suggested that Mr. Trump’s claim that the active ingredient in Tylenol could cause autism when taken during pregnancy was unsubstantiated by science.
“We need to make sure that we got medical science to prove those kinds of claims,” Mr. Ciattarelli said.
Taxes
New Jersey has some of the nation’s highest property and business taxes, topics that were on the minds of both candidates before the moderators even began questioning.
In their opening statements, both Mr. Ciattarelli and Ms. Sherrill offered brief pitches on how to address the affordability crisis. And while answering the first question, the candidates tussled over property taxes and the Trump administration’s signature law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Mr. Ciattarelli celebrated the bill for raising the federal deduction for state and local taxes to $40,000 from $10,000 (a limit that the first Trump administration put in place). And he said he would look to revamp the school funding formula, a policy goal of Mr. Ciattarelli’s since he first ran for office in 2017.
But Ms. Sherrill argued that the Trump administration’s signature bill “would undermine the ability to deduct almost 30 billion in taxes from New Jerseyans.” She again pivoted to a common attack line from her campaign, claiming that Mr. Ciattarelli wants to raise taxes on New Jersey.
Mr. Ciattarelli glared at Ms. Sherrill, and swiftly called her line “a lie.”
“It’s not true,” Mr. Ciattarelli said. “We’re not raising any taxes in New Jersey.”
Immigration
Mr. Ciattarelli has said that he would repeal a state policy that limits the amount of voluntary assistance that local law enforcement officers can provide to federal authorities enforcing civil immigration laws.
“I’ll secure New Jersey by us not being a sanctuary state, nor having sanctuary cities,” Mr. Ciattarelli said.
He also said that undocumented residents should have a “pathway to recognition.”
Ms. Sherrill shot back, saying that “that’s not really a thing.”
“That doesn’t confer any status,” she added, noting that she supports “comprehensive immigration reform.”
She said that as a former federal prosecutor she was the “only person on the stage who has prosecuted a violent criminal who has been deported.”
Mr. Ciattarelli later questioned the yearlong duration of her employment as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey and suggested that most cases she handled were plea deals.
Schools
Mr. Ciattarelli has said he would permit parents to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to pay for tuition at private and parochial schools. He has also said he would seek to expand the number of charter schools, which are publicly funded but have more freedom from state oversight than traditional schools.
“I’ll provide them choice with vouchers and charter schools,” he said Wednesday night.
Ms. Sherrill has also said that she supports charter schools.
During the debate, she emphasized the negative role social media can have on students’ mental health. She has said she would ban cellphones in schools and set up a “social media addiction observatory” to focus attention and research on the risks of social media.
“I’m going to drive more mental health resources into our kids’ schools,” she said.
Mr. Ciattarelli said that he would alter the state funding formula that determines the flow of money to school districts and rewrite the state curriculum to focus on basics like reading and math.
Ms. Sherrill said that she would address low reading scores among third graders by returning to a focus on phonics “to make sure kids are reading at appropriate grade levels.”
Pumping Gas
The candidates did agree on one thing: a law unique to New Jersey that does not permit drivers to pump their own gas.
Ms. Sherrill, who was raised in Virginia, said she had become fond of the custom.
“Especially when my kids were little and in the rain,” she said.
Mr. Ciattarelli also said he would leave the law alone if elected.
“Jersey girls don’t like to pump their own gas,” he said. “We’ll continue at full service.”
Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
Nick Corasaniti is a Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections.
Taylor Robinson is a Times reporter covering the New York City metro area.
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