Jon Bramnick suggests the race is just getting started. And that's good news for him.

"Our momentum is on the rise and your support keeps me inspired on the campaign trail," is what he said in a social media post following an event this week in Morris County.

Jack Ciattarelli, among political observers, is the consensus favorite for the Republican gubernatorial nomination with Bill Spadea coming at him from the right.

Both men, in fact, are accusing each other of not being "pro-Trump" enough.

And then there is Mario Kranjac who says he is the only true MAGA candidate in the race.

Bramnick, who is no fan of the president, clearly is in a lane of his own.

And he seems to like it.

Knowing that "regular people" do not start paying attention to elections until rather late in the campaign season, Bramnick says that can work in his favor.

"I think what you are seeing is that more people are starting to focus on the race," he said Thursday in a phone conversation.

And when they do, Bramnick thinks they will tilt his way, seeing him as a man who knows - and who talks about - issues. Bramnick, who is the only GOP candidate in the race serving in the state Legislature, says his recent polling reflects that.

As for his opponents, Bramnick said he doesn't think voters enjoy "two people (Ciattarelli and Spadea) attacking each other."

A key argument for Bramnick and his supporters is that he has the best chance to win the general election. But he needs to get there.

This poses an interesting, if not inevitable, question.

What will drive a majority of Republican primary voters - ideological purity or the best chance of success in the fall?

One supporter of Bramnick is Laura Ali, the Morris County Republican chair.

She described Bramnick as very likeable, adding that:

"If he gets his message out, he's got a shot."