Jack Ciattarelli – Photo: New Jersey Globe YouTube screenshot
Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, recently aired a digital ad attacking Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for backing the state’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum standards. Established under a 2019 law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), the standards require middle and high school students to learn about the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
The premise behind the law is based on the belief that teaching students about figures like Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Alan Turing helps reduce bullying of LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming peers.
Ciattarelli’s ad uses a clip from a May Democratic primary debate, when NJ Spotlight News anchor Briana Vannozzi asked whether parents should be allowed to opt their children out of LGBTQ-related lessons, as they can with sex education, according to the New Jersey Globe.
“I believe that parents have the right to oversee their children’s education,” Sherrill said during the debate. “I would push an LGBTQ education into our schools. Parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things, but this is not an area where they should be opting out, because this is an area of understanding the background of people throughout our nation.
“And right now we see, for example, at the Naval Academy, an erasure of history,” she added, citing the removal of about 400 books after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the school to eliminate titles allegedly promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Ciattarelli’s campaign seized on Sherrill’s use of the word “push,” releasing an edited clip that removed her comments about parents’ right to oversee their children’s education.
The 15-second ad frames the clip between two black screens, one reading “Mikie Sherrill’s Education Plan” and the other declaring “It’s your choice. Not hers. Vote this November 4th.”
A similar five-second version of the ad shows Sherrill uttering the quote before fading to a black screen reading: “Protect Parents’ Rights. Vote this November 4th.”
According to the Globe, the Ciattarelli campaign spent at least $17,000 to generate about 1.2 million views on Google and YouTube. The ad, which was previously publicly accessible via YouTube, is no longer accessible, with a YouTube message reading: “Video unavailable – This video has been removed by the uploader. However, the ad remains unlisted on Ciattarelli’s campaign YouTube account and can be accessed through this link.
According to the Google Ads Transparency Center, the 15-second digital ad attacking Sherrill was shown between 3 and 3.5 million times between Sept. 18-21, with the campaign reportedly spending $80,000-$90,000 to air that version of the ad.
Two versions of the five-second ad were viewed between 3.5 million and 4 million times, and between 4.5 million and 5 million times, respectively, between Sept. 16-21. According to the Ad Transparency Center, the campaign spent an estimated $70,000 to $80,000 and $80,000 to $90,000 to air the digital ads.
Mail-in voting for the general election began on Sept. 20.
Ciattarelli, who nearly upset Murphy in 2021 despite polls predicting otherwise and stunning political observers, has repeatedly targeted the 2019 LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum law and a 2021 diversity and inclusion mandate in his campaigns.
Four years ago, the former State Assemblyman alleged that the law teaches children “sodomy in sixth grade,” and promised to roll back the inclusive curriculum standards if elected governor. Now, he’s reviving similar, though more under-the-radar attacks against it.
Last month, Ciattarelli spoke at a Jersey City rally organized by the anti-LGBTQ group Moms for Liberty, where he denounced a policy allowing schools to change students’ gender identity records without notifying parents.
Ciattarelli’s attack on Sherrill echoes a tactic President Donald Trump used against former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential race.
One of Trump’s most effective ads took Harris’s 2019 remarks out of context, highlighting her support for allowing transgender inmates access to doctor-recommended, “medically necessary” care. Courts have ruled that denying such treatment violates the Eighth Amendment, a stance the Supreme Court has allowed to stand.
Similarly, Ciattarelli is taking Sherrill’s quote out of context, weaponizing opposition to transgender rights to cast her as radical and out of step with voters — part of a broader Republican strategy of using Democrats’ primary-season remarks against them in the general election.
Garden State Equality blasted the ad as a “desperate attempt to revive Jack’s long record of attacking LGBTQ+ New Jerseyans — built on blatant misinformation and the same tired, debunked tropes we’ve heard for years.”
The group pointed out that the LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum law passed with bipartisan support and criticized Ciattarelli’s broader record on LGBTQ rights. He voted against legalizing same-sex marriage, calling civil unions “adequate,” and opposed a bill allowing people to amend the gender marker on identity documents — legislation later vetoed in 2015 by then-Gov. Chris Christie.
Garden State Equality accused Ciattarelli of making “inflammatory and inaccurate statements” about LGBTQ people. Executive director Christian Fuscarino charged him with “following the Trump playbook” by “stoking fear, sowing division, and trying to erase LGBTQ+ historical figures from our classrooms.” The group contrasted his rhetoric with Sherrill’s pro-LGBTQ voting record in Congress.
“New Jersey deserves leaders who uplift children — not weaponize our identities for political gain,” the group’s deputy director Brielle Winslow-Majette said in a statement.
In March 2022, Justine Lindsay made history as the NFL’s first openly transgender cheerleader. Three seasons later, the Carolina Panthers TopCat is stepping away from the squad to pursue pageantry and community outreach.
In a statement to Outsports, Lindsay said she wanted to grow beyond the sidelines, striving to be “recognized not just as an NFL cheerleader, but as someone making a positive impact, especially during these uncertain times.”
The announcement marks a reversal, as some news outlets had previously reported she would return for the 2025–2026 season.
California Democrat says House Oversight Chair James Comer made a "homophobic" remark after Democrats challenged his handling of the Epstein investigation.
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, fired back at Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) after Comer dismissed him as a "real big drama queen."
Comer's jab came after Democrats released a sexually suggestive letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The letter, featuring a drawing of a curvaceous woman used as the backdrop for birthday wishes, was allegedly signed by Donald Trump and included in a 2003 album celebrating Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump had been friendly with Epstein during the 1980s and 1990s.
"I was really into politics at a very young age," says Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast and an MSNBC political analyst. "I can't remember what they were called, but you'd get those kid magazines about politics that would come to your school, and I remember always really being drawn to them, and reading them and wanting to know more. I always knew lots of weird facts about politics and geography as a little middle school nerd."
Raised in St. Louis until fourth grade, when his family relocated to Littleton, Colorado, Miller became enmeshed in conservative politics at a young age, taking various campaign jobs throughout his career as a former Republican strategist. He jokes that his success at handicapping political races dates back to the 1992 election, when he won a $1 wager after betting his grandmother that then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton would unseat sitting president George H.W. Bush.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.