The campaign of New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli announced that it will be filing a defamation lawsuit against Democratic opponent, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, after she claimed during a debate that he contributed to the deaths of “tens of thousands of New Jerseyans” during the opioid crisis.
During Wednesday’s debate, Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of contributing to the opioid epidemic through ties to pharmaceutical-backed training programs.
“You know, my opponent likes to talk a lot about being a businessman, but I think what New Jersey doesn’t know as much about his business, how he made his millions by working with some of the worst offenders and saying that opioids were safe, putting out propaganda, publishing their propaganda while tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died,” Sherrill said. “And as if that wasn’t enough, then he was paid to develop an app so that people who are addicted could more easily get access to opioids. And so as he made millions, as these opioid companies made billions, tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died.”
“Shame on you. During the Biden administration, she had no problem whatsoever with tens of thousands of people crashing our border each and every day, not knowing what impact they had in our communities with regard to [the] fentanyl crisis, fentanyl abuse, fentanyl distribution, vaccination rates and the like,” Ciattarelli responded. “With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided [for] my family, it’s a lie. I’m proud of my career.”
Ciattarelli’s campaign strategist, Chris Russell, released a statement on Thursday evening, announcing the legal action.
“Last night, faced with continued questions about her refusal to release disciplinary records that would reveal her true role in the Naval Academy cheating scandal, and pressed about her unusually abbreviated tenure as a federal prosecutor, Mikie Sherrill cracked,” Russell said in a statement obtained by Fox News.
“In doing so, she claimed — twice — that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ a clearly defamatory attack that shocked the moderators, press, and public alike,” Russell added. “In a time where political violence and violent rhetoric are becoming all too prevalent, Mikie Sherrill baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line.”
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The lawsuit is expected to be filed by early next week, according to Ciattarelli’s campaign.
The Sherrill campaign responded to the potential legal move by Ciattarelli.
“Jack’s reaction is to hide behind a lawsuit, not to take responsibility. What’s reckless and irresponsible is Jack Ciattarelli making millions of dollars profiting off the pain of New Jerseyans — publishing misinformation about the dangers of opioid addiction and developing an app to coach patients to ask doctors for more drugs,” Sherrill campaign communications director Sean Higgins argued in a statement.
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“As he was making millions, the Big Pharma companies made billions, and tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died. He is clearly unfit to lead and protect this state, and owes the people of New Jersey answers,” Higgins charged.
Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics and winning election as a state lawmaker, is making his third straight run for New Jersey governor. And four years ago, he grabbed national attention as he came close to upsetting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
It was during the 2021 campaign that Ciattarelli’s connection to opioid manufacturers first surfaced. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017.
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At a post-debate news conference, Ciattarelli claimed the attack by Sherrill was “a desperate tactic by a desperate campaign on behalf of a desperate candidate.”
Sherrill, asked after the debate if she had proof directly linking Ciattarelli to the opioid deaths, told reporters, “I guess he’s not really expressed anything about this. I think there’s a lot we don’t know. I think he continues to not be very transparent about it.”
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial contests the year after a presidential election, which means the races traditionally grab outsized national attention.
And this year’s ballot box showdowns are viewed as crucial early tests of Trump’s popularity and second-term agenda, and are considered key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm elections for the U.S. House and Senate.
The winner of next month’s election in New Jersey will the succeed term-limited Murphy.
While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past ten elections.
And in the 2025 race, political history favors both parties.
The party that wins the White House tends to lose the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections the following year, which favors the Democrats. But Democrats in New Jersey are also trying to buck history — it’s been over six decades since a party won three straight Garden State gubernatorial elections.
Fox News’ Bryan Llenas and Madison Colombo contributed to this report.
, 2025-10-10 12:08:00, 
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