Free Republic

Anti-Trump Republicans New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick and radio host Bill Spadea are vying to become the first Republican to win the Garden State governor’s mansion since Chris Christie in 2009. Bramnick and Spadea hope to replace outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who is term limited. Bramnick is an avowed moderate Republican and hopes to flip the governor’s mansion red, albeit with his anti-Trump flare. He hopes to buck the trend as Republicans have increasingly embraced former President Donald Trump as the leader of the GOP.

NEWARK, N.J. — If you need proof that the state Republican movement is in tatters, Save Jerseyans, look no further than an NJTV interview segment with Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-21) which aired on Saturday’s On the Record with Michael Aron. “When people organize because they dislike Trump so much, that organizes people on the local level and on the county level,” Bramnick told Aron. “They’ve done a really good job taking out Republicans, and a lot of it is based on his personality and his abrasiveness.”

One of the Donald Trump’s top political allies in New Jersey says that Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) could face a primary challenge if he doesn’t stop bashing Trump. Nutley Commissioner Steve Rogers says that when Republicans like Bramnick bash Trump, they hurt the GOP brand. “Our party must return to its conservative roots-roots that are embedded in the Constitution,” Rogers told the New Jersey Globe. “I have been all over New Jersey and I find a hunger and thirst among Republicans as well as conservative Democrats and independents for a return to the values we embraced years ago.”

The election is over. Let the infighting begin.  For me it began Wednesday morning just after I awoke. I had spent the prior evening covering Republican senatorial candidate Bob Hugin's loss to Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez and didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m.After fortifying myself with some strong coffee, I checked my phone. There was a voicemail from the most prominent conservative Republican in the state Senate, Mike Doherty of Warren County.  Doherty was upset at the comments in my election-night column from the most prominent moderate Republican in the Assembly, minority leader Jon Bramnick.Bramnick had pinned the blame...

NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt released the following statement regarding the future of the GOP brand in New Jersey: . “While I appreciate Assemblyman Bramnick’s desire to speak out about the direction of our State Party, I think it is important to make clear that he does so as an individual and not on behalf of the NJGOP. Our State Republican Organization is a diverse group of individuals and organizations, with multi-­faceted views on a variety of issues. Still, the core principles of the Republican State Committee are to fight for lower taxes and to reduce the intrusion of government into...

With former Gov. Chris Christie gone and Republicans holding slimmer minorities in the state legislature, Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick tried Thursday to rebrand the New Jersey GOP. “We’re the Republican Party, but we’re not crazy,” Bramnick said. “We are not crazy or extreme. We’re reasonable.” Bramnick (R-Union) was at times more critical of his own party’s president than the newly sworn-in Democratic governor during a news conference inside the state house with other Assembly Republican leaders. He went out of his way to denounce Trump’s tweets and divisive rhetoric but passed on opportunities to attack Gov. Phil Murphy or...

TRENTON -- Jon Bramnick, the Republican leader of the state Assembly, told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday that he's decided not to enter this year's race to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor. Bramnick (R-Union), a close Christie ally who has been the Assembly's minority leader since 2012, said he will instead focus on running for re-election and increasing the number of Republicans in the Democratic-controlled lower house of the state Legislature.