Bill Spadea is back on the air, and all's right with New Jersey politics. Excuse the sarcasm.

Last seen losing big time to Jack Ciattarelli in June's Republican primary, Spadea returned Tuesday to his old job - host of the morning drive show (6 to 10 a.m.) on radio station 101.5.

If there was any intrigue here regarding the fall election, Spadea dispelled it before he even got to the studio.

No, he's not going to endorse Ciattarelli. He made that clear in a column on the station's website last week. He put it thusly:

"As far as this coming November, Jack Ciattarelli has already said in interviews that as best he can tell, Spadea's followers are all in. If that’s true, then he doesn’t need my endorsement. Frankly, I won't pretend I support a candidate I’ve always believed - and still believe - is wrong for New Jersey.
New Jersey deserves a fighter and a leader, not a placeholder. I won’t rubber-stamp more of the same and I certainly won’t help sell voters on a candidate I believe will keep us stuck exactly where we are."

There you have it. Not exactly a team player.

Of course, this is not unexpected.

Asked in debates leading up to the primary, Spadea never said he would endorse Ciattarelli.

And last month he was absent at a Republican rally in Seaside Heights aimed at uniting the party after the primary.

Ciattarelli doesn't seem to care about an endorsement from Spadea. After all, he's been endorsed by Donald Trump.

What will be interesting over the next two months is whether Spadea badmouths "Jack" or just lets things rest.

Throughout his campaign, Spadea's appeal was that Democrats are "woke" and establishment Republicans are "weak."

Nothing has changed. Consider the following, also from his column.

"We will use the power of our vast reach to empower small business owners, stand up for parents concerned about the assault on their rights from woke Democrats and weak Republicans."

The primary results tell us that Spadea's appeal is not very widespread. His followers, however, tend to be passionate.

He told one caller this morning that the politicians in Trenton aren't listening.

"Don't worry. The fight is just beginning," he said.

A cynic may observe that Spadea has been saying the same things for years now. Even before he officially launched his gubernatorial campaign in June of 2024, he was traveling the state preaching his message of "common sense."

He always insisted that folks subscribing to his views were the majority. Or, as he put it, "There are more of us than there are of them."

Maybe not.