SOMERSET - They both spoke and afterwards, they greeted each other warmly and posed for photos.

There was actually some tradition to Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill making nice with each other Tuesday night in The Palace at Somerset Park banquet hall.

For years, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association has been inviting the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial nominees to a reception soon after the primary. Fortunately, it's a pastime that lives on in these polarizing times.

Both candidates were on stage for about 20 to 25 minutes, speaking and taking a few questions.

Then, they shook hands.

But there is a campaign that just began.

Earlier in the day, Sherrill sent out a statement lambasting Ciattarelli for not pledging to fight Donald Trump executive orders that harm New Jersey.

"He apparently doesn’t understand what public service is about: serving others, not a party or president," the statement said.

Asked about that at Tuesday's event, Ciattarelli turned it around.

He said Sherrill hasn't criticized Phil Murphy for his failed policies, citing public education, public safety and overdevelopment.

When Sherrill learned of her opponent's response, she called it "ridiculous."

She mentioned problems she has with the Murphy Administration regarding housing development and the state health benefits plan.

"I have always been a very independent voice," she said. "I think that's pretty well known." Sherrill mentioned that she was among the first Democrats in Congress to call for Joe Biden to not run again.

In her comments, Sherrill began with some of her accomplishments in Congress, such as securing money for the long-delayed Gateway rail Tunnel and flood control. She has represented CD-11 since 2019.

Sherrill spoke of the need to accelerate the permitting process in the state, which she called "cumbersome." For a business group, that was something they wanted to hear.

Both candidates avoided gratuitous insults or over-the-top rhetoric.

But Sherrill could not ignore the president's economic policies.

"We're already feeling the impact of tariffs on New Jersey," she said.

Ciattarelli made some partisan comments too.

In general, he said the Murphy Administration "doesn't celebrate the business community." Left unsaid was that he would do precisely that.

The GOP nominee also pledged to reduce the corporate business tax, which is now 11.5 percent, by one percentage point a year.

As stump speeches go, Ciattarelli's words are more polished than Sherrill's - not surprising when you consider "Jack" (as his signs say) has been doing this full time for about five years.

He always makes the point that he is - and always will be - a Jersey guy. He says he doesn't want any other job but governor, doesn't want to write a book, and upon retirement, he's not headed to an exotoc locale.

"I'll be on the beach in Surf City," he says.