WATCH: Trump-Backed Candidate Lays Out Day One Agenda In Rousing Speech

Jack Ciattarelli, the Trump-backed candidate in what is shaping up to be a neck-and-neck gubernatorial race in the blue stronghold of New Jersey, recently laid out his agenda in an electric address to supporters.

Ciattarelli is running for governor in the second straight general election. In his last time out, the Republican candidate nearly pulled off a massive upset against incumbent governor Phil Murphy, a race in which his campaign over-performed expectations north of 10 percentage points, according to a number of major pollsters.

In 2025, Ciattarelli finds himself locked in a tight race with U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill. The race is being closely watched by the political world, as massive Republican gains in the Garden State this past November have left the party bullish about a potential upset.

“We’re gonna talk about what we’re gonna do, and here’s what happens on day one,” Ciattarelli recently told supporters.

“Executive order number one, no town in this state will be a sanctuary city, and we will not be a sanctuary state. I have an attorney general that supports both police and parents. That’s something we haven’t had in eight years.”

The gubernatorial went on to touch on education, a central tenet of his campaign, as well as rising energy costs in the state. The latter issue has become an increasingly vital issue in the state, with Ciattarelli aligning with President Trump’s energy agenda, while Sherrill has held the part line on pursuing green energy initiatives.

“We’ll replace everybody on the State Board of Education and get our curriculum back to where it needs to be. We’ll replace everybody at the [New Jersey Board of Public Utilities] and get our energy policy back to where it needs to be. So we’ll lower those electricity bills.”

He went on to blast Sherrill’s energy plan, which includes a statewide freeze on utility costs. “Now she put out a laughable energy plan last week, right?” Ciattarelli said. “And when the press asked me, I summed it up simply this way; she either doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about, and if she does, she’s lying.

Okay? They broke it, they own it. When we take office, we’ll fix it”

While Sherrill is considered the favorite in the race, a number of recent polls have pegged the race as a pure toss-up. The current polling average has Sherrill ahead by roughly 9 percentage points, though Governor Murphy was polling ahead by 15 points at the same point in the race.

Ciattarelli has also seen massive gains among a number of leading pollsters in recent weeks. According to a recent poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Sherrill leads by 8 percentage points after previously leading by 21 in early July, representing a 13-point swing in favor of the Republican candidate.