The mayor of Bergen County, New Jersey’s fifth-largest municipality, formally switched parties on Thursday, announcing his support for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

Garfield Mayor Everett E. Garnto Jr. said he felt compelled to leave the Democratic Party, declaring that “the state is broken.” His announcement came during a rally at a Garfield gymnasium, where several hundred people gathered to hear from both Garnto and Ciattarelli.

“For the last seven and a half years, [Gov.] Phil Murphy’s policies have left us with sky-high taxes, soaring electric bills, and less safe communities,” Garnto said. “New Jerseyans deserve better. Jack Ciattarelli is ready to turn this state around.”

Garnto noted that he supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. A former school board member, he also spent twelve years as president of the Garfield Police Benevolent Association Local 46.

Trump won Garfield by about nine points in 2024, while Murphy narrowly carried the town by three points in the 2021 gubernatorial race.

Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman, will face U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) in the November general election. He also highlighted the backing of Dover Mayor James P. Dodd, a Democrat, arguing that such endorsements reflect growing frustration among moderate Democrats with state party leaders.

A new Emerson College survey shows that Republican former Rep. Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill are tied in the contest for governor of New Jersey in 2025, with each getting 43% of the vote and 11% of voters still not sure.

Emerson College conducted a poll of 935 likely voters on September 22 and 23, revealing a close contest between Jack Ciattarelli (R-NJ) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) for the position of governor of New Jersey.

The poll suggests that both candidates have 43% of the vote, with 3% backing another choice and 11% not sure.

The results indicate that the race is still tight, even though Election Day is only months away.

President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Ciattarelli, amplified the survey on Truth Social, posting both the poll results and a message praising Ciattarelli as “tough on crime and cutting taxes.”

Trump wrote that Ciattarelli “will be a GREAT Governor” and criticized Sherrill for supporting “Open Borders (again!), men playing in Women’s Sports, Transgender for everyone, and all of the things that almost DESTROYED America,” adding that she is “a big supporter of the perhaps future Communist Mayor of New York City.”

The Emerson results come after several events that have changed the contest for governor. Earlier this month, Ciattarelli and Sherrill were fighting over taxation and fiscal policy in a discussion.

Ciattarelli promised not to raise the sales tax and stressed cutting income and property taxes. He also accused Sherrill of not disclosing stock dealings while she was in Congress.

He said that Sherrill broke disclosure laws on defense and technology equities, citing stories from the New York Times and Business Insider.

Sherrill defended her record and promised to “drive down your cost at every level.”

Former Democratic Assemblyman Jamel Holley also backed Ciattarelli earlier, calling his campaign “the right way forward.”

Ciattarelli has gained even more support thanks to the backing of organized labor. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, which has more than 7,000 members, backed him in June. They said they liked that he was open to natural gas projects and didn’t like that Sherrill was focused on solar energy.

Greg Lalevee, the head of the union, said that Ciattarelli “understands New Jersey” and the problems with its cost of living.

The race has also brought up foreign policy.

This isn’t the first poll to show how competitive the race is. A poll by National Research Inc. in June showed Sherrill ahead by three points, 45% to 42%.

The survey also found that many people were unhappy with the way things were going in the state.

Fifty-four percent of voters said New Jersey was on the wrong track, and this group strongly supported Ciattarelli.

Ciattarelli has a lot of support from Independents and some Democrats who are unhappy with their party in the 2025 contest.