HANOVER - Following through on a threat, or perhaps a promise, he made last week, Jack Ciattarelli said Tuesday night that he has filed a defamation suit against Mikie Sherrill.

Saying his Democratic opponent "crossed a line," Ciattarelli said he had filed suit during a Meet and Greet with about 200 supporters at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in the township's Whippany section.

The legal action stems from last Wednesday's debate when Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of killing thousands of people because a medical publishing firm he owned ran articles saying opioids were mostly safe and non-addictive.

Referencing the charge and the election, Ciattarelli said of his opponent, "Liars don't win. Winners don't lie."

On Monday, Sherrill reiterated her position at a press event in Clifton attended by drug counselors and a man who lost a child to opioids. She said she was "dumbfounded" by Ciattarelli's intention to go to court.

It was unclear Tuesday night in what county the suit was filed.

As the candidate fielded questions, he was asked about national Republican figures coming to New Jersey to campaign for him. One man yelled out, "Trump."

The president endorsed Ciattarelli during the primary. On Tuesday, Ciattarelli said Trump has been helpful with such things as robo-calls.  He added:

"You know, at the end of the day, I don't know how much all that matters when you bring in other folks, quite frankly."

He did say that Vivek Ramaswamy will visit New Jersey on Wednesday to campaign for him.

Nonetheless, when all is said and done, Ciattarelli said it is up to the candidate to win the race.
And he didn't seem bothered by anyone Sherrill brings in, cracking that it would not make a difference if she brought in, "the ghost of FDR."

Ciattarelli also got a question about redistricting.

As governor, would he follow some other states and seek to remap New Jersey's congressional districts to make them more advantageous to Republicans?

His answer was "no," although he was not that blunt about it.

He said he would appoint fair-minded people to the state's Redistricting Commission, which would meet after the 2030 Census.  Pressed by the questioner about "helping out" Donald Trump if he asked, Ciattarelli said he did not think the president would ask him to do anything "unconstitutional."

The state's congressional delegation stands at 9 Democrats and 3 Republicans.

Interestingly, the congressional map now in effect was one crafted by Democrats following the 2020 Census. That map, however, resulted in Democrats losing a congressional seat when Tom Kean Jr. beat Tom Malinowski in CD-7. Regardless of the map, people still have to vote.

Speaking of voting, Ciattarelli drew loud applause when he said Republicans are returning mail-in ballots at a higher rate than Democrats.

That's true, but it's not the whole story. Democrats - as usual - have requested so many more ballots than Republicans, the raw numbers are heavily in their favor.

As of Tuesday, Democrats have returned 173,325 ballots to 62,485 for Republicans. This according to VoteHub, a non-partisan elections researcher.