I’m really worried for New Jersey’s gubernatorial election this year… I’ve been stating my support for Ras Baraka, especially after the ICE incident that happened a few weeks ago, but now I’m considering voting for Mikie Sherrill again, mainly because she seems to have the best chance against Jack Ciattarelli, the front-runner on the republican side.

Jack Ciattarelli almost beat Governor Phil Murphy back in 2021 (Murphy is term-limited so he can’t run anymore). Ciattarelli is basically the MAGA candidate and is endorsed by Drumpf. His front-runner status is also higher than Mikie Sherrill’s, meaning republican NJ voters are more united in choosing him as their leader, 44% among reps vs. Sherrill’s 28% among dems. I’m not liking those numbers…

Baraka seems to represent my political sentiments the most out of all the dem candidates (I’m also impressed with Steve Fulop), but at the same time, Ciattarrelli seems to have a decent chance of winning in the general election and I want a candidate who has the best chance of making sure he doesn’t win so I’m very conflicted. I want someone progressive but I also have to face the fact that right now most NJ dems are more centrist rather than leftist and the state shifted a little bit purple in the 2024 election.

Would backing a progressive left candidate end up backfiring against a pro-MAGA candidate? If I were to choose to vote for a progressive left candidate, what would be the best way to determine which of those two have a higher chance of victory against Ciattarelli?