Ciatarelli’s Rally Channels Trump, Kirk
New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciatarelli’s rally in Wildwood Friday night drew an enthusiastic crowd hoping to turn the Garden State from blue to red.
WILDWOOD, NJ – There’s a strong argument that Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk are the two most important conservative figures in the country over the past decade, and New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciatarelli has clearly been taking notes.
In an age of screens and isolation, Trump and Kirk have always understood the power of actual human presence and interaction — and it was on full display Friday night in this South Jersey beach town.
DAVID MARCUS: FOR JACK CIATTARELLI, SOUTH JERSEY AND VOTHER ENTHUSIASM ARE KEYS TO VICTORY
By my count, about 800 people showed up on the boardwalk. Among them was 24-year-old Alex, wearing a gold MAGA hat and sunglasses.
“It just taps into the humanity of it all,” he told me, adding, “When we compete on the Internet, we forget the kind of common ground that can exist.”
Diane and Renee were out with their husbands at the event, and Diane told me about live meetings, “I feel like it brings us together more, and it makes us feel like, ‘Let’s go!'”
Dominic, a teacher in his fifties, told me that he is often frustrated by the woke education agenda. He credited Kirk with using live events to “spark something in the youth of America.”
Not only voters, but also the candidates saw the value of the in-person meeting. Billy Prempeh, who lost the race for Congress in New Jersey’s 9th District last time and is running again, told me, “President Trump had the first Wildwood rally here and it was a huge success.”
In terms of issues, energy prices topped the agenda, as did taxes and crime. But there was an electricity that transcended any specific policy interest, and the event turned into an urgent call to “take back New Jersey.”
Inside the Seaport Pier, just before the entrance to the boardwalk stage, voters chatted at tables and enjoyed a buffet courtesy of CapeGOP, who organized the event and provided the gracious host, Mike Donahue.
The rally for New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciatarelli Friday night in Wildwood may not have had the scale of a Trump event, but it had a similar energy, writes columnist David Marcus.
The Turning Point USA table – Kirk’s most tangible legacy – was buzzing. The young organizers were making plans to reach schools in the Garden State.
It was fun, it was festive, it was hopeful.
These days, when you get more than a hundred Democrats together in the same place, things tend to catch fire – often American flags. But for the Republican Party, these events are not just peaceful; they are genuinely happy.
This image of the happy-go-lucky conservative warrior was personified by everyone I spoke to, and that image of the Republican Party plays extremely well across the country.
Another part of the secret sauce that made Trump and Kirk’s rallies so successful is that they often took place in parts of the country where relatively few people venture. Trump preferred to go to an airport in a small town for a rally than to a big city. Kirk’s events stretched across so-called flyover country.
There is no escaping the feeling that one is in a tent revival at conservative political rallies these days. God is on the lips of many speakers and attendees – unapologetically – not as something to be tolerated, but celebrated.
In the post-COVID world, Republicans across the country would be wise to push for these live events — with music, food and maybe even a few beers.
It’s not just the 800 people who came to Wildwood on Friday that are important here; it’s everyone they’ll tell about it. It’s the kind of enthusiasm that turns one voter into many voters.
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Although Ciatarelli did an admirable job of stirring up the crowd, it was GOP voting guru Scott Presler, with his dark, flowing mane, who drew the most attention from the crowd and fielded the most selfie requests. Those are incredibly valuable voters.
Charlie Kirk understood, and President Trump understands, that live events, gatherings and simply being in each other’s company mean the world to people. As Democrats increasingly succumb to angry curses, the fun of the Republican party provides a strong counterpoint.
Trump has floated the idea of a national midterm convention next year. Not only should Republicans do this, but it should be a blowout: a family-friendly theme park of the American dream, something the entire country can watch in awe.
A month after Kirk was killed at his event in Utah, the speakers and audience on the boardwalk this weekend stood unbowed and unafraid of those who wanted to harm them. They stood up for their party, their country and Charlie Kirk — and also for Jack Ciatarelli, who hopes to convince voters that a happy conservative fighter can lead the Garden State again.
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