A month and a half after they won their respective gubernatorial primaries, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) have received their first publicly financed matching funds of the general election campaign.
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) announced this afternoon that Sherrill has received $2,085,847 in matching funds, putting her 17% of the way towards the overall $12.5 million cap, while Ciattarelli has received $1,634,757, 13% of the cap.
The distribution of funds is likely the first of many; Ciattarelli and Sherrill each announced only a few weeks after the primary that they had raised enough to qualify for matching funds, and millions more dollars are likely to flow into the race as donors turn their attention to one of the just two governor’s offices that are up for election this year.
Under New Jersey’s public financing system, gubernatorial candidates are eligible to receive $2 for every $1 they raise, but they face an overall expenditure limit of $18.5 million for the general election campaign. Candidates can also opt out of the system if they so choose and avoid those limits.
The general election funding cap is separate from the cap candidates faced during the primary; Sherrill and Ciattarelli both received the maximum $5,500,000 during their primary campaigns, but that has no impact on their ability to receive funds during the general election. (Both were also subject to an $8.7 million spending cap during the primary, though each had allied super PACs that weren’t subject to those rules.)
During the 2021 election, both Ciattarelli and Gov. Phil Murphy qualified for the full $10.5 million in general election matching funds.
