MANCHESTER - It looked like a Trump rally. More than a hundred people on Saturday afternoon jammed into the bar and patio of Donovans in this Ocean County town.

Many wore hats and shirts proclaiming support for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

One woman was asked if she was a long-time fan of Jack Ciattarelli.

"I like Trump," she said. "Trump, Trump, Trump."

Talk about setting the tone.

Ocean County is a very Republican county, so the support for Trump was no surprise. The crowd was also older, definitely the Baby Boom generation.

When Ciattarelli arrived for what was a "meet and greet," there were loud cheers all around.

Part of "Jack's" message fit the demographics in front of him.

A Boomer himself, Ciattarelli spoke of growing up in a simpler - and probably better - time.

His late mother, he said, maintained discipline with a "wooden spoon."

As for rights, he said you had the right to leave the home at age 18.

He further described a time when it was safe to play outside, you learned the basics in school and you made sure to get home in time for dinner.

This was not a new message. Ciattarelli actually used it when he ran in 2021.

But his nostalgic appeal to the 1960s resonated.

Of course, the upshot was that today, he said, there is "mayhem" in the form of flash mobs and we are graduating "illiterate kids."

He cited recent polls - public and internal - that have the race deadlocked.

"We're right where we need to be," he said, adding that, "Championship teams finish strong."

After the tales of yesteryear and a football reference, you almost expected a Vince Lombardi quote. But none was forthcoming.

As for Mikie Sherrill, Ciattarelli said she ridiculed his public service at last Sunday's debate.

Ciattarelli said he is proud of having served on all levels of government - borough council, freeholder and the state Assembly. He said at the debate that he "term limited himself."

That prompted Sherrill to say he probably would not have been reelected anyway.

On the stump, Ciattarelli always brings up that he was born and raised in Jersey and that Sherrill was born in Virginia.

Today, he put it this way:

"My opponent doesn't know where the hell Manchester is."

Just for the record, Sherrill had events scheduled for today in Burlington and Cumberland counties.

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