Ciattarelli touts Trump alliance, says New Jersey voters ‘very pleased’ with president

BAYONNE N J With fewer than three weeks until Poll Day in New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli says he's looking forward to a helping hand from President Donald Trump There's obviously a whole lot of people across the state of New Jersey that are pleased with the job the president's doing Ciattarelli mentioned Wednesday in an sole Fox News Digital interview Ciattarelli's comments came as a new community poll indicated the two-time GOP nominee in the Garden State narrowing the gap with Rep Mikie Sherrill his Democratic Party rival for governor in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov Phil Murphy With the clock ticking towards Vote Day multiple sources authenticated to Fox News that Trump will hold tele-rallies with Ciattarelli ahead of Voting Day NATION'S ONLY TWO RACES FOR GOVERNOR ROCKED WITH THREE WEEKS UNTIL BALLOTING DAYTrump's teaming up with Ciattarelli will likely help energize the Republican Party's MAGA base countless of whom are low propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential electoral process years And in what's expected to be a low-turnout electoral contest Trump's help could potentially be crucial to Ciattarelli who's making his third bid for governor and who four years ago came close to upsetting Murphy New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential electoral process and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year's midterm elections And this year they're being viewed to a large degree as ballot box referendums on Trump's unprecedented second-term agenda TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER ELECTIONSPointing to the president's push to temporarily halt wind farms off the Jersey Shore his vow to kill New York's congestion pricing tax cuts deductions and credits in the GOP's massive domestic agenda measure and his efforts to secure the nation's southern demarcation Ciattarelli mentioned that people are very pleased with the President what he's done for New Jersey Trump endorsed Ciattarelli earlier this year in the GOP gubernatorial nomination race And the president headlined a tele-rally for Ciattarelli ahead of the June primary The new survey from Quinnipiac University indicated Sherrill a four-term federal lawmaker Naval Academy graduate who flew helicopters during her military career and a former federal prosecutor at advocacy among likely voters Ciattarelli a former state lawmaker and a certified citizens accountant who started a biological publishing company before getting into politics and winning vote as a state lawmaker stood at patronage in the survey which was conducted Oct - CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING Sherrill's -point advantage in the new poll was down from an -point lead in the Quinnipiac's September survey The poll indicated Ciattarelli with a slight lead in enthusiasm among voters but that Sherrill was viewed more favorably While Trump isn't on the ballot he's loomed large over the New Jersey gubernatorial voting process At last week's second and final debate Sherrill charged that her GOP rival had shown zero signs of standing up to this president In fact the president himself called Jack MAGA and he's shown every sign of being that FINAL FACEOFF CIATTARELLI SHERRILL CLASH ON DEBATE STAGEAsked whether he considered himself part of the MAGA movement Ciattarelli reported he was part of a New Jersey movement When urged to grade the president's performance so far during his second term Ciattarelli noted I'd certainly give the president an A I think he's right about everything that he's doing I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli's supporting I give him an F right now Sherrill responded as she pointed to New Jersey's high cost of living HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE ELECTIONSWhile Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests winning five out of the past ten elections And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year's presidential ballot losing the state by only percentage points a major improvement over his -point deficit four years earlier Ciattarelli reported in a Fox News Digital interview last month that he was really pleased that the White House has offered to help us in any way that we see fit and that he and his campaign were in constant communication with the White House about different options they can help And while there's no indication as of now that Trump will join Ciattarelli in person in New Jersey campaign strategist Chris Russell informed Fox News we're appreciative of all the help we've received from the president and his unit so far and grateful for any promotion they provide down the stretch But the Democratic National Committee DNC in a release after word of the Trump tele-rally was first stated by Axios claimed that Ciattarelli was desperate It s clear that this poll comes down to one major truth Jack is for Trump while Mikie Sherrill is for New Jersey DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman argued in a report