Sen. Bernie Sanders, Murphy To Campaign At Rutgers Thursday

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — With one week to go until Election Day, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be coming to New Jersey to campaign for him.

Sanders tweeted Tuesday morning that he will be part of a rally on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus on Thursday in support of Murphy's re-election campaign.

"Raising the minimum wage. Paid leave. Equal pay. This is the progress made under the leadership of @PhilMurphyNJ, and this Thursday, we'll rally to get out the vote at Rutgers University. I hope you can join us," Sanders tweeted.

Murphy will host a Get Out The Vote rally with Sanders at 6:45 p.m., the Murphy campaign said; they did not say exactly where on campus it will be held.

It remains unknown if the event is open to the public or even to Rutgers students. The Murphy campaign said in an advisory that any members of the media wishing to cover the rally must show proof of COVID-19 vaccine.

Raising the minimum wage. Paid leave. Equal pay. This is the progress made under the leadership of @PhilMurphyNJ, and this Thursday, we'll rally to get out the vote at Rutgers University.

I hope you can join us. pic.twitter.com/tFQ0kCT5ZZ
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 26, 2021

The Democratic Party appears to be breaking out its biggest, most popular names as the New Jersey governor's election is looking more and more like it will be a close race.

Murphy started out with a wide margin over Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli, and New Jersey is a strong majority Democrat state.

But in recent weeks, Murphy’s lead has been dropping, down to nine points according to a Stockton University poll released in late September. A recent Emerson College/PIX 11 poll showed Ciattarelli just six points behind Murphy.

"It’s prudent to say that while Murphy remains the favorite, an upset isn’t completely out of the question," mused New York Magazine this week.

Ciatterelli has criticized Murphy on property taxes, vaccine mandates and Murphy's school mask mandate on children as young as 2, a move that made him very unpopular in Republican quarters of the state.

If elected, Republican Ciatterelli has said he would lower property taxes, end vaccine mandates and reverse the mask mandate in schools. See Murphy's re-election platform here. See Ciattarelli's campaign platform here.

President Joe Biden campaigned Monday for Murphy in Kearny; his wife, first lady Jill Biden, was on the Murphy stump trail last week in Edison.

And one of the Democratic Party's most popular former presidents, Barack Obama, was in Newark on Saturday, where he led a voting rally in Weequahic Park.

Prior to that, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Montclair earlier in October to push for COVID-19 vaccines and child care funding.

"I supported [Murphy] when he ran for governor four years ago, because I knew he would make the people of New Jersey proud," Obama told the crowd of about 100 on Saturday. "And that's exactly what he's done."

"Do not sit this one out," the former two-term president told the crowd.

Obama also took a swing at Ciattarelli, bringing up the former state assemblyman's appearance at a "Stop the Steal" rally to overturn former President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 election.

"Apparently, Phil's opponent says he didn't know it was a rally to overturn the results of the last election," Obama said. "When you're standing in front of a sign that says 'Stop the Steal' and there's a guy in the crowd waving a Confederate flag, you know this isn't a neighborhood barbecue."

"Come on, man … That's not what New Jersey needs," Obama added.

Ciattarelli has acknowledged he attended the November 2020 "Stop the Steal" rally in Bedminster. But he has maintained that he believes Biden is the legitimate president of the U.S., and has criticized Trump's role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.

Ciattarelli paints himself as a moderate Republican, and he beat out two very pro-Trump Republicans, Hirsh Singh and Phil Rizzo, in the primary.

Read More: Obama's Visit To Newark Shows Murphy Is Worried, Ciattarelli Says

With reporting by Eric Kiefer/Patch

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