Republican Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign for governor released a new digital ad on Wednesday criticizing Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-Montclair) vow to promote LGBTQ education in New Jersey schools.
The clip was pulled from the tail end of a May primary debate between Democratic candidates for governor. NJ Spotlight News anchor Briana Vannozzi asked the candidates whether parents should have the right to opt their children out of LGBTQ-related content, similar to how students can be removed from sex ed-related curriculum.
“I believe that parents have the right to oversee their children’s education,” Sherrill said. “I would push an LGBTQ education into our schools. Parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things, but this is not an area where they should be opting out, because this is an area of understanding the background of people throughout our nation. And right now we see, for example, at the Naval Academy, an erasure of history.”
The congresswoman was referencing the removal of some 400 books from the Naval Academy’s library after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office told the school earlier this year to remove books that promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Her remarks are bookended by text over a black screen that reads “Mikie Sherrill’s Education Plan,” then, “It’s your choice. Not her’s. Vote this November 4th.”
Sherrill and Ciattarelli are competing to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Mail-in voting starts later this week.
The ad comes in five-second and 15-second versions, with a handful of variations in terms of on-screen text. The Ciattarelli campaign has spent at least $17,000 on the ad for at least 1.2 million views on Google and YouTube, which publishes ad spending and view counts.
Ciattarelli has pushed parental rights as a top issue in recent weeks of the campaign. Late last month, he spoke at a Moms for Liberty rally in Jersey City, where he touted his opposition to a policy that allows schools to accept a change to a student’s gender identity without notifying parents.
Script:
Sherrill: “I would push an LGBTQ education into our schools. Parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things, but this is not an area where they should be opting out.”
