Congresswoman and New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mike Sherrill in a get out the vote rally at the Vogel in Red Bank Thursday. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
With the eyes of the national political world focusing on New Jersey ahead of Tuesday’s election, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill stopped in Red Bank to rally supporters in a get-out-the-vote kickoff event Thursday.
At her side was one of the Democratic National Party’s heavy hitters stumping for her in the state this week, former Transportation Secretary Peter Butigieg.
In recent days, Sherrill’s campaign has seized upon President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was suspending funding for the nation’s largest infrastructure project – and one that directly affects Red Bank commuters: the Hudson River rail tunnel project known as Gateway.
“Jack is gonna do whatever the heck Trump tells him to do,” Sherrill said to a cheering crowd of several hundred people at the Vogel.
Buttigieg, during whose tenure the project received its federal funding, criticized Ciatarelli for not standing up to Trump on the issue.
In a gaggle with reporters afterward, he pushed back against the assertion that New Jersey having a Republican governor might actually be better for New Jersey in currying favor with Trump on issues like Gateway.
“Part of what is now leading to some evidence now that the president might reconsider, is the pressure, the fight that’s been raised,” he said. “It’s not coming from people sucking up to him, it’s coming from New Jersey standing up the way Mike Sherrill is demanding that state leadership should do. And the idea that Jack Ciatarelli’s going to shape Donald Trump’s behavior, rather than the other way around just doesn’t add up.”
By our count, this was Sherrill’s third visit to Red Bank, considered a Democratic bastion in largely Republican Monmouth County. Ciatarelli’s campaign has not passed through the town. Both Sherrill and Ciatarelli are criss-crossing the state with multi-stop bus tours ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day.
Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit New Jersey to campaign with her in Newark on Saturday as the campaign heads down the home stretch with polls showing a tight race.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
