Republican Jon Bramnick launches long-expected gubernatorial campaign

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a longtime moderate Republican who has consistently opposed former President Donald Trump, launched a long-expected gubernatorial campaign Saturday.

In his announcement speech, Bramnick presented himself as a moderate, bipartisan counterpoint to the one-party rule New Jersey has seen since Gov. Phil Murphy took office in 2018.

“I’ve decided to run for many reasons, but first and foremost is to bring back balanced public policy to Trenton, policies that reflect the views of the majority of our citizens … When I’m elected, the Democrats will have to negotiate and compromise or I will take out my veto pen and politely return it to them for reconsideration,” he said during a speech outside New Brunswick’s Stress Factory.

Bramnick, who hails from Union County, spent nearly two decades in the Assembly — including 10 years as its minority leader — before winning a Senate seat in 2021. He urged his party to abandon the sharp rhetoric the party adopted under former Trump, warning Trump and his influence on the GOP had driven away moderate voters crucial to a Republican victory.

That opposition is nothing new either. Bramnick opposed Trump while the former president was still in office. In 2019, he drew general election challenges from two pro-Trump Republicans who said they would drop their independent bidsif Bramnick and Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz (R-Union), his running mate, committed to backing Trump in 2020.

The senator said Trump’s influence has eroded trust in the GOP, warning further commitments to Trump and his most extreme supporters would do little but doom Republicans.

“The view of our Grand Old Party has changed, and as a result we’ve been losing election after election after election,” he said. “We have always been the party of law and order, but if we want to continue to be the party of law and order, we cannot make excuses for the rioters on January 6th who were hitting police officers over the head with sticks.”

The Plainfield native focused on bipartisan legislation when touting policy accomplishments, pointing to bills he sponsored requiring schools to carry defibrillators and educate students on grief. Both measures cleared each chamber of the legislature in unanimous votes.

Bramnick, who spent seven years on the Plainfield City Council, stressed electability in his announcement, noting repeated victories he and his running mates have secured in recent years, when Democrats made his 21st Legislative District a top target.

That message was on display in the campaign’s first television ad, which showed a group of men at a poker table extolling his virtues as an everyman of New Jersey and a decent person.

“He’s not crazy like these other politicians,” one man says in the spot.

The senator headed off what is likely to be one of Democrats’ most potent attacks in coming election cycles, saying he supports abortion rights.

“I believe that women should have control over their bodies and their reproductive systems. I am a pro-choice Republican, and I’m not scared to show it,” Bramnick said.

Because New Jersey’s next round of state Senate elections won’t take place until 2027, Bramnick will not have to give up his seat in the Senate to seek the governorship.

Bramnick, a personal injury attorney, joins a race that already includes former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, another moderate who was the party’s pick to challenge Murphy in 2021.

The senator enters the contest with endorsements from Laura Ali and Glenn Mortimer, chairs of the county Republican parties in Morris and Union County, respectively. Though their support is no guarantee, those endorsements are likely to aid Bramnick in securing organizational lines that will lend him a preferential ballot position on the party line.

“There’s some things we all know about Jon: He’s loyal, he’s a man of his word, he always does what he says he’s going to do,” Ali said. “He’s a man of integrity. He has run and won tough campaigns, especially in his own district.”

Two other county chairs in his legislative district, Somerset County GOP chair Tim Howes and Middlesex County GOP chair Robert Bengivenga, did not make endorsements Saturday, and they have some reason to steer clear of the primary.

Ciattarelli’s old legislative district included parts of Somerset and Middlesex counties, and he is a native of the former county. Others in attendance Saturday, including former Assemblyman Ned Thompson and Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, declined to make endorsements so early into the contest. The gubernatorial election will be Nov. 4, 2025.

Muñoz and Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis (R-Union), the senator’s district mates, had no such compunctions and endorsed Bramnick Saturday, as did former state Attorney General Chris Porrino. He also got a boost from former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

“I’ve known Jon for 20 years, and I think he’d make a fine governor,” Boehner said in a prerecorded message.