Fearing Cittarelli upset over Sherril, DNC pumps more money into NJ gov race — after already dropping $3M

The Democratic National Committee is pumping another six figures into the New Jersey governor’s race amid fears of an upset from Republican Jack Ciattarelli over embattled Democrat Mikie Sherrill as Election Day fast approaches.

The DNC announced Tuesday that it will splurge some $500,000 across the off-year election races in New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania, without specifying how much of that cash will go to the Garden State.

Allies of Ciattarelli feel the DNC’s splurging is a sign that top Democratic brass is somewhat anxious about the New Jersey race.

“They have only $12 million in the bank (compared to about $86 million for the RNC),” Alex Wilkes, a New Jersey-based GOP consultant who previously worked for Ciattarelli’s 2021 bid, told The Post.

“They must be extremely desperate if they’re having to dig through the couch cushions to spend their last ‘dime’ on her.”

It didn’t specify how much of that will flow to New Jersey, where the DNC has spent at least $3 million already. That is the largest known investment the DNC has made into New Jersey for an off-year race.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Governors Association has shelled out $20 million in ad spending, trouncing the Republican Governors Association’s $6 million on the race, per an analysis from the New Jersey Globe.

The latest DNC cash infusion will be used for field staff across the three states to help engage voters and key constituencies that Democrats hemorrhaged in 2024.

“At this DNC, there’s no such thing as an off year anymore because every election counts,” DNC boss Ken Martin said in a statement.

“It’s our moment to show Donald Trump and the Republicans that their time in power is coming to an end,” he added. “The stakes couldn’t be higher. We’re going to spend the next two weeks fighting for every single vote.”

Like New Jersey, Virginia has a governor’s race in the off-year cycle, though Democratic hopeful Abigail Spanberger, Sherrill’s former roommate, has a comfortable lead in most polling. Pennsylvania has three Democratic members of the state’s Supreme Court on the ballot in November.

Of those races, New Jersey has seemingly given Democrats the most concern. Sherrill is the frontrunner, with a 4 percentage point lead in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

The RCP aggregate underestimated Ciattarelli by about five points during his 2021 gubernatorial race.

Several shock polls have pegged a dead-even race, including one from Emerson College Polling and an internal Ciattarelli survey that gave him a 1-point edge.

But most polls show Sherrill in the lead.

Democrats have been deploying some of their top stars to New Jersey in hopes of giving Sherrill a boost during the election homestretch.

Former President Barack Obama is expected to campaign with her in Newark this weekend. A handful of senators, such as Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) have also stumped with her.

Meanwhile, President Trump has given Ciattarelli his full-throated endorsement.