Spadea’s primary opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, is the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the New Jersey race after his close loss to Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) in 2021.

Ciattarelli did not endorse President-elect Donald Trump until March, after going through his previous governor’s race without the support of the former president. The ad shown by Spadea’s campaign features a quote from nearly a decade ago in which Ciattarelli says, “Sitting silently and allowing [Trump] to embarrass our country is unacceptable. He is not fit to be president of the United States.”

After a variety of quotes featuring some anti-Trump sentiment from Ciattatrelli are shown, the ad ends with: “Jack Ciattarelli Anti-Trump Then. Jack Ciattarelli Anti-Trump Now.”

Ciattarelli’s campaign was upset by the use of an AI voice portraying him in the attack ad.

“Spadea is terrified of real — and recent — video of him trashing Trump,” Ciattarelli consultant Chris Russell said on X. Spadea’s campaign responded in turn.

“Pay attention to the fact that Jack doesn’t like that a voice is being used to highlight his words — BUT he’s NOT disputing that those words are actually his, because his anti-Trump comments are indisputably his own,” Spadea campaign manager Tom Bonfonti told Politico.

The use of AI in campaign ads is not unprecedented, but it is novel. The Federal Communications Commission advanced a proposal in July that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in television and radio ads.

“There’s too much potential for AI to manipulate voices and images in political advertising to do nothing,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “If a candidate or issue campaign used AI to create an ad, the public has a right to know.”

The New Jersey gubernatorial race will last through much of 2025 until a winner is decided in November. Ciattarelli is considered the GOP front-runner while there is a crowded Democratic field vying to replace the term-limited Murphy.