Sherrill calls Ciattarelli ‘accomplice’ in New Jersey opioid deaths

Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Monday doubled down on his assertion that Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli is “complicit” with opioid companies in the deaths of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans.

Sherrill spoke at a news conference about the Garden State’s opioid epidemic, accusing Ciattarelli of “looking for ways to help people access the drugs that were killing them” through his ties to pharmaceutical industry-backed training programs.

“So you heard it, Jack made millions,” she said. “Opioid companies made billions and thousands of New Jerseyans were dying.”

When a reporter asked Sherrill if she still held Ciattarelli personally responsible for opioid-related deaths, the state lawmaker initially withheld her response.

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New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill on stage at the start of their second and final debate October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, NJ (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News Digital)

“I think we presented the argument that Jack is complicit with these opioid companies, in league with these opioid companies,” Sherrill said.

The reporter asks Sherrill again, “So you’re saying he killed tens of thousands of New Jersey residents?”

“I think he’s up there with the people who still paid billions of dollars,” Sherrill responded. “So I think the line is pretty clear.”

Sherrill first claimed Ciattarelli contributed to the opioid epidemic during last week’s gubernatorial debate.

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“As for everything she just said about my professional career supporting my family, that’s a lie. I’m proud of my career,” Ciattarelli responded during the debate.

And Ciattarelli’s campaign fired back the day after the debate, pledging to file a defamation suit against Sherrill.

“Mikie Sherrill snapped,” Chris Russell, chief strategist for the Ciattarelli campaign, charged in a statement Thursday.

“In doing so, she claimed – twice – that Jack Ciattarelli had ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ a clearly defamatory attack that shocked moderators, the press and the public,” Russell added. “At a time when political violence and violent rhetoric are becoming too prevalent, Mikie Sherrill’s baseless and reckless accusation of a political opponent of mass murder during a televised debate crosses the line.”

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill, right, and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, on stage at the start of their second and final debate, October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News Digital)

The Sherrill campaign responded quickly.

“Jack’s response is to hide behind a lawsuit, to not take responsibility. What is reckless and irresponsible is that Jack Ciattarelli is making millions of dollars profiting from the pain of New Jersey residents – publishing misinformation about the dangers of opioid addiction and developing an app to get patients to ask doctors for more medication,” the director of Sherrill campaign communications, Sean Higgins, in a statement.

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“While he made millions, big pharmaceutical companies made billions and tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died. He is clearly unfit to lead and protect this state, and he owes the people of New Jersey answers,” Higgins charged.

On Monday, Ciattarelli charged during a campaign stop that Sherrill had “lied about me left and right.”

And Russell said in a statement that if Sherrill “had any decency, she would retract her slanderous comments and apologize.”

“The truth is that Jack Ciattarelli’s medical publishing company helped create an online tool that allowed a small group of people with chronic pain to learn about treatment options and better advocate for their own healthcare choices when meeting with their healthcare professionals,” Russell explained.

Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before entering politics and winning election as a state lawmaker, is making his third consecutive campaign for governor of New Jersey. Four years ago, he gained national attention as he came close to antagonizing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli answers questions from reporters following a debate October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser-Fox News)

It was during his 2021 campaign that Ciattarelli’s ties to opioid manufacturers first surfaced. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017.

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At a post-debate press conference last week, Ciattarelli claimed that Sherrill’s attack was “a desperate tactic by a desperate campaign on behalf of a desperate candidate.”

Sherrill, who was asked after the debate if she had any evidence directly linking Ciattarelli to the opioid-related deaths, told reporters: “I guess he hasn’t really said anything about it. I think there’s a lot we don’t know. I think he continues to not be very transparent about it.”

Representative Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey, answers questions from reporters following a debate October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser-Fox News)

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold governor contest the year following a presidential election, meaning races traditionally attract outsized national attention.

This year’s election showdowns are seen as crucial early tests of Trump’s popularity and his second-term agenda, and are seen as key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm elections for the U.S. House and Senate.

The winner of next month’s election in New Jersey will succeed term-limited Murphy.

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While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are highly competitive in gubernatorial elections, winning five of the last ten elections.

In the race to 2025, political history favors both parties.

The party that wins the White House tends to lose gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia the following year, which favors the Democrats. But New Jersey Democrats are also trying to buck history: It’s been more than six decades since a party won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in the Garden State.