In the first newspaper endorsement of the 2025 race for governor of New Jersey, the New York Post has endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli to succeed term-limited Democrat Phil Murphy.
The editorial said that Ciattarelli could lower income taxes., cut state spending, scrap New Jersey’s sanctuary-state policy, and reduce the costs of electricity. They called Sherrill a “hack.”
“Her plan to tame costs boils down to more handouts (at taxpayer expense), targeting mysterious ‘bad actors,’ locking in pricey ‘clean energy’ and, of course, fighting big, bad Orange Man,” the New York Post editorial board stated. “Her pathetic plan to lower grocery bills centers on going after “large corporations [that] jack up food prices and take advantage of consumers during a crisis. Sounds like she’s cribbing from socialist Zohran Mamdani’s book on magically repealing the laws of supply and demand.”
The editorial does not mention Sherrill’s involvement in the U.S. Navy cheating scandal that has hounded her campaign for the last few days.
New Jerseyans are expected to see fewer newspaper endorsements in the governor’s race than at any other time in modern history.
The Star-Ledger shuttered its editorial page in February, and several other newspapers owned by Advance Publications, including the Jersey Journal, Trenton Times, South Jersey Times, and Hunterdon County Democrat, are no longer in operation. Still, Advance Publications has the option of doing a one-off endorsement for Sherrill; one of their owners, Ben Newshouse, is a major donor to Sherrill’s campaign.
It’s not clear what Gannett will do. The company closed down local editorial boards for its eight New Jersey-based newspapers, and stopped endorsing presidential candidates last year. But the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board has the discretion of taking sides in state races; it endorsed Democrat Andy Kim for U.S. Senate last year.
The New York Times announced in 2024 that it would end its endorsements of candidates in state and local races. The Times still endorses presidential candidates.
The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Democrat Steve Fulop and Republican Jon Bramnick in the gubernatorial primaries last spring. The endorsement had no impact on the results.
Even the influential Jersey Hills newspaper chain is unlikely to endorse this year; it is now operated by the Corporation for New Jersey Local Media, and as a non-profit, it is not permitted to advocate for a particular candidate.
Four years ago, Murphy was endorsed by the Asbury Park Press, Courier News, Daily Record, Home News Tribune, New Jersey Herald, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (Bergen) Record, and The Star-Ledger; the New York Post backed Ciattarelli.
