New Jersey primary election 2025: These 5 Republicans are running for the GOP nomination for governor.
Justin Barbera, Jon Bramnick, Jack Ciattarelli, Mario Kranjac and Bill Spadea are vying for their party’s nomination.
New Jersey’s 2025 primary election is June 10, with polls open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Six Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination for governor, while five Republicans are competing to be the GOP’s choice.
Here’s a look at the Republican candidates and their platforms:
Justin Barbera
Born and raised in New Jersey, Justin Barbera attended Holy Cross High School in Delran and played several different sports year-round, including youth baseball.
Barbera received a Division 1 football scholarship offer, but after graduation, chose to attend the Military Academy in Fort Union, Virginia. He now owns a construction business in Medford. Barbera is divorced and has three children.
In 2024, he ran as an independent in New Jersey’s 3rd District and lost to Democrat Herb Conaway.
The issues
Barbera said the biggest issues facing New Jersey are quality of education, high taxes, energy shortage and failing infrastructure.
“We’re paying the most for students in the world and we’re below top 40,” he said. “We’ve had a decline in our education system since 1979, so I would put things in place to allow the students to learn the fundamentals in school and promote courses that will allow them to succeed as adults.”
According to US News and World Report, the Program for International Student Assessment, which measures 15-year-olds’ knowledge in the areas of reading, math and science, ranks American teens 21st among the approximately three dozen countries that were assessed and belonged to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.
He said he would champion a curriculum that would teach students to balance budgets, start businesses and understand market values and global currencies. He wants the education system to foster the spirit of cooperation among students.
“Getting along with each other is a major hurdle here in New Jersey because we’re so diversified and we need to use a model that’s successful,” Barbera said.
Barbara said his campaign has not attracted large donors.
“With the money you owe favors,” he said. “I don’t have the money and I don’t owe anybody any favors, so I’m able to do exactly what needs to be done for New Jersey residents.”
He said he supports trade schools and non traditional academic options.
“Being a contractor, I see the value in having a skill,” he said. “I want children to understand it’s OK being a tradesman, tradeswoman. That’s not to be looked down upon.”
Barbera, who described himself as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, said his grandfather was always willing to lend a helping hand to others, and he has embraced that spirit in his own life.
“I want the voters to know I’m a regular guy, a patriot just like them, and I understand all their problems,” he said.
Jon Bramnick
Jon Bramnick grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and pursued a political science degree at Syracuse University before attending Hofstra Law School.
His first job after school was working for the city of New York.
“They told me ‘Jon Bramnick, you’re assigned to our South Bronx office,’” he said. “They gave me instructions on how to get there in the subway. It was quite something.”
After a three-year stint in New York City, he got a job in a private law firm and moved back to Plainfield. He ran for City Council and won, serving for six and a half years. He then moved to Westfield, became chairman of the local Republican party. He was elected to the state Assembly in 2003. In 2021, Bramnick was elected to the New Jersey state Senate, and was re-elected two years ago.
He said he’s running for governor after discussing the idea with his wife.
“She said ‘You have to finish the job, you have that kind of experience, now go do it,’” he said. “And she was right.”
Bramnick is married and has two grown children.
The issues
Bramnick said New Jersey needs a tax reduction, and that overdevelopment must be controlled.
“The fact that a government tells you this is the number of affordable units you have to build in a specific town, without doing research on how this will impact the community, is absurd,” he said.
“They just come up with a number, there’s not a mayor in the state who thinks that’s a good idea.”
He believes in stricter laws and said the state’s current criminal justice system is too lenient on convicted criminals.
“You do the crime, you do the time,” Bramnick said.
He also said NJ Transit must be improved and it will take federal money to help make that happen.
“I deeply believe you need somebody who brings everybody together. I don’t hate Democrats, I want to see the country and the state come together,” Bramnick said.
“That can be done, even though you keep your basic principles as a Republican, which are lower taxes, law and order and smaller government, you can do it working across the aisle, which I’ve done since I’ve been in the legislature.”
Bramnick said experience is key to holding the governor’s job. He said he’s accumulated a lot of it working with many governors in the Garden State over the years.
“You would want a surgeon with a lot of experience, you’d even want an electrician with a lot of experience,” he said. “The most important thing is bringing the experience to the table and getting the job done.”
Jack Ciattarelli
Jack Ciattarelli describes himself as a lifelong Jersey guy. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, he was raised in the borough of Raritan. After graduating high school, he attended Seton Hall University, where he received his Master of Business Administration.
After college, Ciattarelli launched his own business, then served on the Raritan Borough Council from 1990 to 1995. He also served on the Somerset County Board of Freeholders, which is now called the Board of County Commissioners.
In 2011, Ciattarelli was elected to the General Assembly. In 2017, he lost the Republican gubernatorial primary to Kim Guadagno. In 2021, he won the GOP nomination and was defeated by Democrat Phil Murphy in the general election.
The issues
One of Ciattarelli’s key campaign issues is capping property taxes to a percentage of an assessed home value. He said that, as governor, he will reduce state spending by 30%, and aggressively eliminate wasteful spending.
Another front-burner issue for him is government reform. He said he will enact term limits for state legislators, and mandate all state employees return to an in-person five-day work week.
He has pledged to create a New Jersey Department of Government Efficiency, emulating the agency of the same name led by billionaire Elon Musk, commonly referred to as DOGE.
He also wants to repeal the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive and favors banning municipalities from declaring themselves sanctuary cities. His campaign states any town that does not comply could have municipal aid withheld.
Ciattarelli and his wife separated in 2023. The couple has four adult children. His campaign did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Mario Kranjac
Mario Kranjac was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Clifton, where he went to high school. He attended Fordham University and went on to earn his law degree from Fordham Law School. He began practicing corporate law in 1990. He now has his own firm and practices law in New Jersey and New York.
He said he was interested in politics since he was a teenager, and after joining Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, on a delegation to Japan, South Korea and China, his interest in becoming active in politics started growing.
“I asked somebody why did Englewood Cliffs have the same father and son mayors for 40 years, and was told I would never beat them, and I said it’s time for them to leave because they’ve served too long as mayors and become too wealthy doing it,” he said.
Kranjac was elected mayor of Englewood Cliffs in 2015, the first Republican to win in 42 years. He served two terms.
The issues
Kranjac said property taxes in the Garden State are too high and must be lowered.
“When I was mayor I cut property taxes every year without cutting services,” he said. “We’ve got a $58 billion budget in New Jersey, it should be more like $40 billion or $45 billion after I cut out all of the waste and fraud, abuse and corruption.”
He said another top priority for him is to fix the state’s education system.
“It doesn’t work for students or parents, it only works for the teachers union at this point,” he said.
He said as governor he will work to end New Jersey’s status as a sanctuary state.
“President Trump needs governors to work with him,” he said.
Kranjac said he decided to seek the GOP nomination for governor because he said he has no confidence in the people who are running to be able to “fix” New Jersey and make the state more affordable.
“A lot of them are beholden to special interests, they’ve taken money from people they should not have taken money from, I’m the only one who can deliver what I promise to deliver,” he said.
He is married with three adult children.
Bill Spadea
Bill Spadea was born in Camden, but grew up in Cherry Hill, where he attended school. He studied history at Boston University. After graduation he joined the Marines and served for eight years.
“My grandfather was a marine in World War II and I wanted to serve, it was a great honor,” he said.
Spadea lived in Washington, D.C. after he retired from active duty. During his time in the nation’s capital, he worked for President Bush Sr. then eventually moved back to the Garden State. He worked in real estate for several years before landing a job as the host of a TV show called “Chasing News.” A year later Spadea became the morning host on New Jersey 101.5 FM.
The issues
Spadea said affordability is one of the top issues of his campaign.
“I built a movie company up from scratch, I’ve been an entrepreneur, I’ve been a broadcaster, I’ve worked in the private sector managing thousands of people and millions of dollars, and I understand the details when it comes to affordability,” he said. “You need a leader who understands at the granular level how to actually get our real estate down.”
He said public safety is another issue he is passionate about.
“Our state is out of control, and the two biggest issues we have are illegal immigration and bail reform,” Spadea said. “I intend to fix both in my first year in office.”
He said he wants to reform immigration by rescinding the 2019 Immigrant Trust Directive, mobilizing the national guard if necessary, utilizing state police assets and cooperating with federal courts and the Trump administration. He said he will also declare a state of emergency and suspend bail reform.
“Our government is no longer accountable to the people that pay the taxes to support it,” he said. “We have bloat and waste that has driven our budget up to near $60 billion, we’re going to implement NJ DOGE.”
Spadea is married and has two grown children.
