The gloves came off during the s econd NJ gubernatorial debate Wednesday night , with Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill exchanging personal digs — with Sherrill trying to blame her Republican opponent for contributing to the opioid crisis and Ciattarelli targeting the Democrat’s Naval Academy record.

Sherrill came into the final debate of the campaign on the back foot after the race dramatically tightened — Ciattarelli cutting a near-double digit polling lead for Sherrill down to 3.3 points. Some polls show the candidates neck-and-neck.

But she threw several jabs that at times drew a testy, off-message reaction from her GOP rival. 3

One such moment came as Sherrill abruptly pivoted from a question about New Jersey’s unemployment rate to assail Ciattarelli’s busi

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