Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill is now the target of a mailer criticizing her positions from a newly formed outside group while, separately, a Republican sheriff candidate in Hudson County is rolling campaign trucks through neighborhoods urging voters to support the Republican ballot line.
A negative mailer, paid for by an entity calling itself the Garden State Fund, began circulating this week saying that Sherrill “Did not act on progressive solutions.” The mailer displays three red “X” bullet points accusing her of a “Sicker New Jersey,” a “Sicker Planet,” and “Continued Genocide,” and arguing she opposed Medicare for All, rejected the Green New Deal, and “funded apartheid Israel genocide of the Palestinian people” based on a budget vote.
Politico claimed that the Garden State Fund PAC has signs of Republican association and that donor details will not be available until after the election due to how New Jersey’s independent expenditure disclosures are timed.
Politico added that the mailer “seeks to capitalize on the lingering opposition Sherrill faced during the Democratic primary from left-wing groups that had supported Ras Baraka, who finished second in that primary.”
Separately in Hudson County, Elvis Alvarez — the Republican nominee for sheriff — posted on Facebook this week “ Our trucks are out about throughout the county!! More to come through your neighborhood. Vote column B!! Nov. 4th.”
A video on Alvarez’s campaign Facebook page shows a large promotional display being pulled by a U-Haul. The back side of the display features a photo of Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro and Democratic Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, with a statement underneath reading “SAY ‘NO’ TO SOCIALISM” and “VOTE COLUMN B.”
The side of the display features a picture of Jack Ciattarelli with the phrase “Time for a Change” at the top. Next to Ciattarelli, it reads “Column B,” and underneath are the ballot designations: “1B Jack Ciattarelli for Governor,” “2B State Assembly,” “3B State Assembly,” and “4B Elvis Alvarez for Sheriff.”
Alvarez, like Ciattarelli, has recently received endorsements from Democrats, with Hudson County Democrat elected officials publicly backing his sheriff bid, and he has also secured support from Early Vote Action’s Scott Presler, who urged residents to back him. Presler said, “Mister Alvarez is a retired officer that is running to become your next Sheriff for Hudson County, if you want law and order, if you want to make sure that we are providing safer streets then please vote for Elvis Alvarez for sheriff for Hudson County.”
CBS noted that some Democrats believe Sherrill’s campaign has failed to deliver a clear economic argument and has avoided focusing on everyday cost-of-living concerns.
