Republican New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli got an emotional surprise on election eve when his son, Army Capt. Jake Ciattarelli showed up for a surprise visit as his dad rallied voters at a local bar, offering a last-minute boost before Election Day.
🚨WOW — Jack Ciattarelli's son, Jake, made a surprise visit on the campaign trail, all the way from KUWAIT!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2025
This is AWESOME.
Thank you for your service! 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/UeAxBzX4MR
“You don’t know what I’m going to say right now, but your biggest supporter who serves his country just came over overnight to serve you,” Passaic County Republican Chairman Peter Murphy said just before Jake’s surprise entrance. “Who’s here?” Ciattarelli responded.
As his son walked in, the crowd erupted in cheers and chants of “USA!” as the Republican candidate embraced his son.
“Now let me guess, you called the president yesterday. He sent Air Force One over to Kuwait and picked up Jack,” Ciattarelli joked. “And if I know the young man, he’ll probably be on a plane this afternoon back to Kuwait to defend our country.”
“What he probably forgot to do because he’s been so busy defending our nation, he probably forgot to get in his vote-by-mail ballot. He’s here to vote,” Ciattarelli continued.
Jack told reporters he planned to stay in the U.S. through Thursday to support his father before returning to Kuwait. He has been serving in the Army since 2023.
Ciattarelli is still trailing behind his Democratic counterpart, Mikie Sherrill, by a few percentage points according to the latest polling.