In the closing days of New Jersey's gubernatorial election, Democratic candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill intensified accusations that Republican Jack Ciattarelli profited from the opioid crisis, linking him to thousands of deaths. Ciattarelli's campaign denounced the claims as slander and threatened a defamation lawsuit. The exchange highlights the personal attacks in a race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.
The feud escalated during a gubernatorial debate on October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of printing 'propaganda' that downplayed opioid dangers through his medical publishing company and designing an app to help access dangerous drugs. 'Jack made millions, the opioid companies made billions, and thousands of New Jerseyans were dying,' Sherrill stated at a press conference on opioid addiction on October 13.
Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and certified public accountant who founded the company and sold it in 2017, rejected the narrative. 'With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided [for] my family, it's a lie. I'm proud of my career,' he said during the debate. His campaign strategist, Chris Russell, called Sherrill's remarks 'reckless and defamatory,' asserting that the company created an online tool for chronic pain sufferers to educate themselves on treatment options. Russell demanded Sherrill retract her comments and apologize, labeling her a 'proven liar and lawbreaker' over past stock trades and a Naval Academy cheating scandal.
Sherrill doubled down at the press conference, saying, 'I think we've laid out the case that Jack is complicit with these opioid companies, in league with these opioid companies.' Pressed on whether Ciattarelli killed tens of thousands, she replied, 'Yes. Look, I think he is right there with the people that... paid billions of dollars. So, I think that the line is pretty clear.' Her spokesperson, Sean Higgins, accused Ciattarelli of being paid by an opioid company to create an app coaching patients for Hydrocodone prescriptions amid the crisis.
Ciattarelli threatened to sue for defamation if the accusations continued, calling them a 'desperate tactic.' At a campaign rally in Clifton on October 13, he pivoted to his 'day one' agenda, promising to end sanctuary policies, scrap cashless bail, and withdraw from regional carbon initiatives.
The race, one of two off-year gubernatorial contests alongside Virginia's, serves as an early test of national political winds. Democrats have dominated New Jersey legislatures, but Republicans have won five of the last ten gubernatorial elections. No incumbent party has won three straight Garden State races in over six decades.