Republican Jack Ciattarelli is up on the air today with two new TV ads using a clip from an interview Democrat Mikie Sherill gave to CBS News in May, where she stumbled over a question asking her to name a piece of legislation she’d like to pass.
Ciattarelli has slammed Sherrill for her interview with veteran political reporter Marcia Kramer, where she found it challenging to name one thing she’d like to do.
In “Good Question,” headlines are used as Sherrill ponders her answer: Property Taxes In NJ Are Still The Nation’s Most Expensive; N.J. Schools Rank Among Worst In U.S. in Key Area; New Jersey’s Electric Bills Tripled This Summer; and “The Average NJ Property Tax Bill In 2024 Was Record High.” The ad ends with the words: “Mike Sherrill for Governor? You’re kidding me, right?”
Script: “(Marcia Kramer) If you could pass one piece of legislation, what would it be? (Mikie Sherrill) Wow. I would love. That’s a really good question, because there’s so many that are coming to mind right now. But right now, I would love at this point to pass legislation to, um, as a just send a federal block grant back to states, back to the state of new Jersey to run some really key programs and innovate on them.”
The ad is part of a $1.3 million ad buy that began last week and includes New York and Philadelphia broadcast TV and some statewide cable.
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A second ad, “Wow,” includes a shorter version of the Sherrill interview clip, followed by Ciatarelli, in a bar, blasting his Democratic opponent for being unable to answer the question – or at least for not mentioning “skyrocketing electric bills and a state people can’t afford.”
Script: “(Marcia Kramer) If you could pass one piece of legislation, what would it be? (Mikie Sherrill) Wow. I would love. That’s a really good question, because there’s so many that are coming to mind right now. But right now, I would love at this point to pass legislation to, um. (Jack Ciattarelli) As a you’re kidding me, right? You want to be governor and you can’t answer that question. We have skyrocketing electric bills and a state people can’t afford. We need to fix New Jersey. I will.”
To see Sherrill’s clip in full context, click HERE to watch the full ten-minute interview. But CBS News has removed the section that Ciattarelli and Republicans are attacking.
In the May interview with Kramer, Sherrill was asked how she would fund some of her proposals: “I think what we have to do, right now, is to consider all options on the table.” Sherrill has used a similar line from Ciattarelli as justification for statements suggesting that Ciattarelli wants to raise the sales tax.
