Ciattarelli surprised by Army son’s return from Kuwait deployment

TOTOWA, NJ – It was a surprise family reunion on Monday for New Jersey Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli is heading into a major gubernatorial election.

Speaking to supporters gathered at a tavern in this northern New Jersey community for his first campaign event of the day, Ciattarelli was interrupted by Peter Murphy, bar owner, longtime friend and supporter and chairman of the Passaic County Republican Party, who introduced a special guest.

Ciattarelli was shocked when his son Jake, an Army captain posted to Kuwait, approached him.

The Republican candidate has closed the gap with Democratic challenger Rep. Mickey Sherrill in a highly competitive and explosive race to become term-limited Democratic governor. Phil MurphyHe put his hand to his head as a sign of disbelief.

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As the two men embraced, the crowd of supporters burst into cheers: “USA, USA, USA.”

Ciattarelli, looking at Murphy and the crowd moments later, said, “Let me guess. You called the president yesterday. He sent Air Force One to Kuwait. They took Jake. If I know this young man, he will probably be on a plane back to Kuwait this afternoon to defend our country.”

And Ciattarelli added: “Something he probably forgot to do because he was so busy protecting our nation. He probably forgot to submit his mail-in ballot. He's here to vote.

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Ciattarelli later told Fox News Digital that he was “truly surprised. I had no idea. I had no idea. A magnificent delight.”

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states that hold gubernatorial competitions a year after the presidential election, and the two contests typically attract enormous national attention. The election is also seen as a key barometer ahead of midterm elections next year, when the GOP will defend its slim majorities in the House and Senate.

This year's elections are also seen as the first major test for the president. Donald Trumpunprecedented agenda.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in New Jersey, Republicans have been very competitive in gubernatorial elections, winning five of the previous ten elections.

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And Trump made significant gains in New Jersey in last year's presidential election, losing the state by just six percentage points, a huge improvement from his 16-point deficit four years earlier. And while Democrats still outnumber Republicans in the Garden State, the GOP has made significant gains in voter turnout since Ciattarelli came close to upsetting Murphy four years ago.

Trump led a televised rally in support of Ciattarelli a week and a half ago, on the eve of early voting. And he plans to headline another televised rally in support of Ciattarelli on Monday night. Election Eve. The goal of the televised rallies is to help energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low propensity voters and often skip voting in non-presidential election years.

“We appreciate what the President is doing to energize the electorate and remind them that they must vote, like all New Jerseyans. The future of our state hangs in the balance. Get out and vote,” Ciattarelli told Fox News Digital.

But the president's approval and favorable ratings remain in question in blue-blue New Jersey, and Sherrill has repeatedly linked Ciattarelli to Trump and insisted the GOP nominee would not stand up to the president.

At the second and final debate last month, Sherrill said her GOP opponent “showed no sign of standing up to this president. In fact, the President himself called Jack a 100 percent MAGA, and he has shown every sign of being one.”

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But Ciattarelli fought back, telling reporters Monday that “the people of New Jersey know who I am. I will fiercely protect the 9 million citizens of this state every day of this week.”

And Ciattarelli is running to succeed him as he points to Murphy's eight years as governor and nearly 25 years of Democratic control of the state Legislature.

“It’s all about property taxes, monthly energy bills, public safety, public education, overdevelopment. These are New Jersey's problems that my opponent wants to blame on the President. He has nothing to do with any of these things. This has everything to do with her party, which has controlled Trenton for the last 25 years,” he said.