Wrapping up a rally in Fair Lawn the other night, Jack Ciattarelli said he was ready to debate Mikie Sherrill.

There will be two debates - the first one of which is Sunday at 7 p.m.

The debate is sponsored by the New Jersey Globe and will be available on the Globe and On New Jersey websites, along with social media sites: Facebook, YouTube, and X. It is also scheduled to be aired on C-SPAN.

Let's consider two things here. What each candidate may say and what it may mean.

Judging from what we have seen so far, the first question is easy.

Jack will say to the effect, "If you want another four years of Phil Murphy, Mikie's your candidate."

Mikie will counter with, "If you want Donald Trump running New Jersey, Jack is your guy."

Beyond that, expect the following.

Ciattarelli has been around a long time. His political path is kind of a traditional one. He was elected to the council in Raritan Borough and "moved up" to the county freeholder board and then the state Legislature. This is the third time he's run for governor, losing in the 2017 primary and the 2021 general.

All this means he knows a lot about issues on various levels. Ciattarelli, logically, will try to make the case that he knows a lot about New Jersey and Sherrill does not. Sherrill has served in the House since January, 2019, but she grew up in Virginia.

Ciattarelli thinks this is important. Campaigning, he likes to mention that Sherrill is like the last two Democratic governors, Jon Corzine and Murphy, who are not natives of the state. Corzine was born in Illinois; Murphy in Massachusetts.

Beyond that, Ciattarelli will try to tar Sherrill with everything people do not like about New Jersey with high taxes and rising energy bills front and center.

Logical strategy, perhaps, but Sherrill has been in Congress. She has nothing to do with how the state has been governed.

Sherrill will say that, and also seek to separate herself from Murphy by talking about a need for "new leadership."

On leadership in general, the Democratic candidate will stress her experience in the Navy to exemplify her commitment to public service. Yes, she speaks about her military career quite a bit, but TV ads about her flying helicopters helped get her first elected in 2018. No reason to change now.

And, of course, she will press Ciattarelli on his devotion to Trump and try to get him to say where, and if, he ever disagrees with the president.

What's all this going to mean?

Not much, maybe.

This debate will not be broadcast on a major over-the-air TV station. Moreover, we are in football season and the NFL dominates Sundays.

Back in Fair Lawn, Ciattarelli said that he expected the first debate to have a much smaller audience than the second debate on Oct.8 at 7 p.m. That one will be televised by local ABC outlets in New York and Philadelphia.

He joked that folks tuning in to see "Jeopardy" will get the debate instead. That's one way to grab an audience.