BOONTON - Just about three months ago on a Wednesday morning, Jack Ciattarelli visited Johnnies Tavern to introduce Jim Gannon, a local boy, as his lieutenant governor candidate.

On Sunday evening, he was back - and this time he brought a well-decorated campaign bus with him.

Ciattarelli hasn't forgotten the history. He told the crowd that it was here at Johnnies - a well-known local gin mill - where he set forth on that summer day what his campaign will be about - a strong commitment to law and order and respecting police.

That's why Gannon, the sheriff of Morris County, got the number two spot on the ticket. And if Ciattarelli wins, Gannon will likely head the state Department of Homeland Security.

The bar was crowded. Then again, most bars are crowded Sundays during football season. But with the Jets and Giants games over, Ciattarelli got most of the attention, although the 4 p.m. games were on TV.

After a standard stump speech in which he said Mikie Sherrill is no moderate and that she knows nothing about New Jersey, Ciattarelli got to a more relevant point.

He asked how many people had already voted?

Not many hands went up.

"Less than 50 percent," he said. Actually, it was quite a bit less.

Not good.

"Don't wait until election day," he told supporters. His point - vote now and be done with it.

Mail-in voting started earlier this month and as usual, Democrats are doing much better than Republicans.

Early in-person voting began Saturday. According to VoteHub, on the first day, about 38,000 registered Democrats voted compared to about

35,500 Republicans.

Phil Murphy, by the way, was scheduled to early vote this morning near his home in Monmouth County.

The Boonton stop was one of many Ciattarelli is making around New Jersey all week to prompt early voting. Hence, the bus, which was an attraction in itself.

Decorated with photos of happy supporters and his campaign theme - "It's Time - people crowded around the bus as it was parked outside.

While Ciattarelli was still inside, some took photos with the bus in the background.