Jack Ciattarelli, a former Republican assemblyman who failed to gain traction in the 2017 election, on Tuesday announced his second bid for governor, portraying himself as policy handyman to clean up after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Property taxes are the highest in the nation, the state's debt is "soaring" and, Ciattarelli said, "New Jersey is broken." But he pledged to follow through on the slogan of his campaign: "Jack can fix it. "

"Phil Murphy doesn't get it. Maybe it's because he's not from New Jersey. Maybe it's because he doesn't understand New Jersey," Ciattarelli said. "But the bottom line is this: He's not New Jersey."

In front of supporters at Raritan's John F. Kennedy Primary School, his alma mater, Ciattarelli, 58, became the first declared challenger to Murphy in the 2021 election. Ciattarelli resurrected the themes from his first campaign: New Jersey is unaffordable, the business climate is among the nation's worst and the policies enacted by an out-of-touch governor fail to address bread-and-butter issues affecting families up and down the state.

As he did in the 2017 campaign, Ciattarelli, an accountant, put forth the outlines of a plan to address the long-term fiscal issues of New Jersey, where debt and property tax rates are among the highest in the nation. That plan focuses on addressing public employee pension and health care costs, reforming public education funding and improving the business climate, he said.

If elected, Ciattarelli said, he would call for a constitutional convention to update how public education and affordable housing are funded. And if he does not get along with the Legislature — which has been led by Democrats for two decades — Ciattarelli said, he would push for referendums to let voters decide key issues.

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His top priorities would be lowering property taxes, reforming the state's tax code, rolling back "burdensome" regulations, limiting waste and streamlining government.

And as someone who has run his own business, Ciattarelli said, he is an ideal counter to Murphy, who was an executive at Goldman Sachs for two decades before pivoting to politics.

"I am determined to stop the bleeding. I am determined on your behalf to fix our broken state," Ciattarelli said. "This isn’t going to be easy, and I’m telling you right now it’s not going to be pretty."

Ciattarelli's campaign comes as no surprise. Just a month after Murphy took office in January 2018, Ciattarelli told The Associated Press he would run again for governor. Since then, Ciattarelli has kept active in politics by co-authoring a political column on a network of local news sites, appearing on television and at party functions and blasting out criticisms of Murphy's policies.

By declaring so early — the election is 22 months away — Ciattarelli can try to gain financial and name-recognition advantages.

Since taking office in 2018, Murphy has pushed New Jersey in a much more progressive direction by raising taxes on multimillionaires and corporations, allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses and strengthening the state's already strict gun laws.

As many Republicans have in recent months, Ciattarelli hammered Murphy for what many perceived as a flippant take-it-or-leave-it comment he made last year when talking about the state's low-ranking business climate.

"If you’re a one-issue voter, and tax rate is your issue — either a family or a business, if that’s the only basis upon which you’re going to make a decision, we’re probably not your state," Murphy said.

Ciattarelli made a pointed rebuttal that could echo on the campaign trail: "If taxes are your issue, Phil Murphy shouldn’t be your governor."

Peg Schaffer, vice chairwoman of the Democratic State Committee, sought to tie Ciattarelli to former Gov. Chris Christie, a regular punching bag for Murphy. Although Ciattarelli was critical of Christie while in office, Schaffer said, he "owns the failed Christie legacy" and it will come to haunt him.

"Jack Ciattarelli is a Republican political insider who fully supported Chris Christie's disastrous agenda while he was in Trenton. That is the exact opposite of the kind of leader New Jerseyans want," Schaffer said in a statement. "Governor Murphy and fellow Democrats are working hard to correct the many mistakes of the Christie era, and Jack Ciattarelli can't be trusted to fix them."

Ciattarelli, who lost the party's nomination to Christie's former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, does not appear likely to be the only Republican in the race. Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick and the state party chairman, Doug Steinhardt, are also said to be considering gubernatorial runs.

No matter who seeks to oust Murphy, any Republican will face headwinds. Registered Democratic voters now lead Republicans by nearly 1 million as of January, according to the secretary of state's office. Democrats have added about 242,000 registered voters since the election of President Donald Trump, while Republicans have added half that, 123,000, according to the office. Unaffiliated voters still make up a majority, with nearly 2.4 million.

Still, New Jersey has a history of defying statistic-driven narratives when it comes to electing governors. Voters have not elected a Democrat for a second term since Brendan Byrne in the 1970s. But they have voted for Republicans — Tom Kean, Christie Whitman and Chris Christie — to serve two terms since then.

At his midpoint, Murphy is on a trajectory to change that history. His approval rating has hovered around 40% and he has already secured the support of party leaders in Essex County, a Democratic stronghold that's crucial to any victory. No Democrat hasannounced plans to challenge him, though the powerful South Jersey political leader George E. Norcross III strongly suggested Murphy should expect a challenge in next year's primary.

At his State of the State address last week, Murphy hinted that he will run again.

"Some might say, two years into this journey, we are halfway through. I’m leaning toward saying we’re a quarter of the way through," Murphy said. "But that is another speech for another day."

Dustin Racioppi is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to his work covering New Jersey’s governor and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: racioppi@northjersey.com Twitter: @dracioppi