CLIFTON, NJ — New Jersey Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr. openly admitted that the Garden State is a “battleground state” now, while stumping with Rep. Mikie Sherrill, as polls show her in a dead heat with Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
“Thank you so much for joining us here in New Jersey, the epicenter of our democracy, because this is a battleground state,” he proclaimed, kicking off a speech that centered largely on national politics rather than state issues.
“Let me tell you this, New Jersey is a battleground state this time because we are fighting for our future, we are fighting for affordability, we are fighting for democracy,” Jones further warned the crowd.
Jones and Sherrill had been rallying in Clifton, NJ, part of Passaic County, which President Trump dramatically flipped red last November — a fact that was not lost on the speakers in the room.
Sherrill and Jones were flanked by a coterie of Democratic stars such as Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) as well as Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ) and several local Democrats.
Ironically, when it was Sherrill’s turn during their rally at a packed room in Elks Lodge, the congresswoman later contradicted him, insisting that “New Jersey is a blue state.”
“Here’s the thing, New Jersey is not a red state,” Sherrill told the crowd shortly after Jones’ stunning admission. “New Jersey is not a purple state. In this instance, New Jersey is a blue state.”
During her roughly 11-minute stump speech, Sherrill made no direct mention of Ciattarelli by name and trained much of her fire on Trump.
Jones, who has led the state Democratic Party since 2021, caused a stir earlier this year when he warned party officials Democratic National Committee conference call about their messaging shortfalls with black voters.
“As a black man, not just as a black chair, we have to do better,” Jones warned on the call, the Associated Press reported.
New Jersey has surprised observers over recent election cycles, where Republicans were far more competitive than they were expected to be.
Four years ago, Ciattarelli came within about 3 percentage points of beating then-incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy (D), significantly overperforming most polling.
Last November, Trump lost New Jersey to former Vice President Kamala Harris by about 6 percentage points, a much closer gap than the 16-point loss he had in the Garden State in 2020.
Passaic County, where Sherrill and Jones campaigned earlier in the day Saturday, was a particular source of heartburn.
Trump had a roughly 22-point loss in Passaic County in 2016, followed by a 16-point defeat there in 2020, before flipping it by less than a percentage point in 2024.
Sherrill currently has a 3.3 percentage point polling edge over Ciattarelli, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
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