New Jersey went to Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, though President-elect Donald Trump came within 6 percentage points of winning the state. Cordi, the homepage editor for the Washington Examiner, called this “a huge deal” considering how much Trump overperformed in New Jersey, citing “the energy” he and many others felt during the Wildwood rally Trump held last year, which one local official estimated that 100,000 people attended.

THE TOP 2025 GOVERNOR AND SPECIAL ELECTION RACES TO WATCH

“I thought that this would be closer even than it was, and it was just incredible to see,” Cordi said on The Matt Rooney Show. “But Republicans have a lot of reasons to be optimistic in 2025. Obviously, Trump came as close as any Republican since George Bush in 1992 to taking New Jersey, so that’s huge. You have a huge rightward shift. You have a really electable slate of Republican candidates this year. You have the incumbency factor, where [Gov. Phil] Murphy’s termed out, right? He has his two terms.”

Cordi also said New Jersey currently “hangs on the Democrats” and argued that it is “not going well” for the party at the moment. He pointed to a recent survey from U-Haul that found that New Jersey had the third-least residence growth in 2024, whereas Republican-led states, such as South Carolina, Texas, and Florida, were toward the top of the most moved-to states.

Another ace that the Republican Party has ahead of the 2025 New Jersey elections, Cordi argued, is “the Scott Presler factor,” referring to political activist and Early Vote Action founder Scott Presler. Cordi explained that Presler ran around Pennsylvania “like a chicken with his head cut off” registering voters ahead of the 2024 election and was credited by former Republican National Committee co-Chairwoman Lara Trump and other major Republicans for helping Trump win the state’s electoral votes.

Presler has already previewed his plan to flip New Jersey in 2025 and will use his “Pennsylvania model” to help Republicans in the Garden State this year.

Cordi also previewed the declared gubernatorial candidates among Republicans, including state Sen. Jon Bramnick, radio host Bill Spadea, former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, and former state Sen. Ed Durr. When asked which candidates are most “in track with MAGA nationally,” Cordi argued New Jersey Republicans are split between Spadea and Durr but that Republicans need to nominate a candidate who has a realistic shot at winning the general election and is in line with the party’s views.

Really insightful interview today between @MattRooneyNJ and @PeterCordi regarding the New Jersey Governor Race!

Facts are facts: TO WIN, WE MUST NOMINATE A CANDIDATE WHO STANDS WITH MAGA!

Right now there is no candidate who purely fits that bill.

Let’s see what happens. pic.twitter.com/fDLMFcq3Jj

— Mike Crispi (@MikeCrispi) January 6, 2025

One person who is largely speculated to run for governor but has yet to declare his candidacy is Mike Crispi, a Trump ally who has “the best relationship” with the president-elect, Cordi said. On X, Crispi wrote that Republicans need to nominate a candidate who “STANDS WITH MAGA” to win and that none of the declared candidates “purely fits that bill.”