SEASIDE HEIGHTS - A blue sky, a bright sun and waves crashing on the beach nearby.

Saturday was a great day to be on the Jersey Shore and Jack Ciattarelli had a great view of it all from the upstairs patio of the Beachcomber Bar on the Boardwalk.

But the Republican candidate for governor was not there to sunbathe. Nor did he join the 400 or so loyal supporters as they sampled Bloody Marys or late morning beers.

He presided over what was called a GOP unity rally. That's a big deal.

Democrats hold a voter registration lead of almost 900,000 in the state and Republicans can't afford to be split.

So, Mario Kranjac spoke. He's the former mayor of Englewood Cliffs and one of the candidates Ciattarelli beat in the primary.

Ed "the Trucker" Durr, who entered, but then dropped out of the race, spoke too. Both urged Republicans to coalesce around "Jack."

Bill Spadea, who finished a distant second in the primary, was not there. But at least some of his supporters were.

Florham Park Mark Taylor was an enthusiastic Spadea backer a few months ago, but on this day, he was among those on Ciattarelli's team. He said there really is no other option.

Ciattarelli gave a standard stump speech, boldly predicting that not only will he win, but that he will bring at least 13 - that's right 13 - Assembly candidates along with him, thereby giving Republicans control of the lower house.

Nothing wrong with dreaming big.

Broadly speaking, Ciattarelli wants to stress that he is a born and bred New Jerseyan - unlike Mikie Sherrill who is from Virginia.

"How about we elect a Jersey guy?" he said.

Ciattarelli also said he was buoyed by being well received at a campaign stop just after the primary in Dover, which is part of Sherrill's congressional district.

The host of the event was Sid Rosenberg, who, oddly, is not a Jersey guy. Rosenberg, who said he journeyed from Queens, hosts a radio show on WABC, New York, and seems to enjoy pushing up to - and over - normal boundaries of discourse.

He spoke at a MAGA rally in Madison Square Garden last fall and noted that the New York Times story of the event said he had used the "F-word" seven times. Whatever turns you on, one supposes. (I did not count how many times he used the F-word today).

Nonetheless, Rosenberg is popular among conservatives and that, of course, was the point.

Another speaker was Scott Presler, a MAGA-influencer who takes some of the credit for Donald Trump winning Pennsylvania.

He said that if Ciattarelli wins the race, it will establish New Jersey as a "swing state" going forward.

The appearances of both Rosenberg and Presler drew the attention of the Sherrill campaign. which said in a release that the rally "demonstrates Ciattarelli’s embrace of the party’s MAGA wing.”

In many ways, Ciattarelli is embracing the MAGA wing and for one reason - he's convinced fully siding with Trump will energize Republicans and unaffiliated conservatives. That remains to be seen.

Ciattarelli, by the way, is taking a five-day break from Jersey politics.

He is scheduled to leave Sunday for Israel for meetings and other events. He is scheduled to return on the 15th