NJ Republicans are mailing in more ballots in encouraging early sign for Jack Ciattarelli

New Jersey Republicans are returning their mail-in ballots at a higher clip than Democrats in an early positive sign for GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli, as polls show a tightening race between him and Rep.Mikie Sherrill in the high-stakes race.Garden State Republicans have so far notched an 18.61% return rate for their mail-in ballots, outpacing the Democrats’ 16.55%, according to data compiled and analyzed by DecisionDeskHQ’s director of political science, Michael Pruser.GOP pollster Adam Geller, who has worked with the Ciattarelli campaign, told The Post that Republicans have historically been less inclined to vote by mail, meaning this lead in the rate of early ballot returns could be a hopeful sign.“Clearly, it’s encouraging for the Republicans right now,” Geller said.

“You could argue that, in addition to coming around to vote by mail, it could be a measurement of the enthusiasm for the candidate.”Brent Buchanan, the president and CEO of Cygnal polling firm, said that the early mail-in data is interesting given President Trump’s growing popularity in the Garden State.“Republicans have gotten serious about participating in early voting,” Buchanan told The Post.“Pair that with the strong shift statewide toward Trump, and you have a growing recipe for Republican wins up and down the ticket.”Kamala Harris only won New Jersey by a 6% margin in the 2024 presidential election, marking the narrowest Democratic margin in the state since 1992, according to the New Jersey Globe.President Trump is now also polling better than outgoing Democratic Gov.

Phil Murphy, according to a stunning recent survey by Emerson College.Still, despite the GOP mail-in enthusiasm, the pollsters cautioned against reading too much into early data.“The problem with voting by mail is that you don’t know from one day to the next what you’re going to get.Which counties may be lagging behind and may suddenly produce lots and lots of ballots,” Geller sa...