Bill Spadea, a firebrand talk radio host who has become an increasingly outspoken figure in the state’s conservative circles and touts his support of former President Donald Trump, formally announced Monday he is running for New Jersey governor.
The voice of the morning show on New Jersey 101.5-FM, Spadea is the fifth candidate to declare their candidacy for the Republican nomination in the ever-growing 2025 race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
Spadea, who has spent the last few years laying the groundwork for a statewide bid, launched his campaign with a video in which he charges that “Trenton politicians have wrecked everything” and says he is running to “fight for you.”
“I’m ready, willing, and able to lead with strength, conviction, and courage to restore common sense to our great state,” he said.
“The insider establishment powerbrokers, well, they don’t like me. Why? Because I’m an outsider they can’t control. And because I’m unapologetically conservative, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-Trump.”
Spadea, a 55-year-old Marine military veteran, has run two failed bids for elected office, including one for Congress. But he has developed a big presence on local media for the last decade, first as a TV host on the now-defunct show “Chasing News” and most recently on 101.5, the state’s largest radio station.
That has given him a daily platform with a large audience to share his views, including controversial takes against masks and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fate of Spadea’s radio show is now in question. If he continues to host his program as a candidate, New Jersey 101.5 runs the risk of being fined for giving out the equivalent of hours of political advertising each morning.
Townsquare Media, the company that owns the station, said Monday that Spadea will remain with the station for now at least.
“Until he becomes a legally qualified candidate, Bill will continue to fulfill his employment responsibilities entertaining and informing the local audience on NJ 101.5 airwaves and digital platforms, as he has done for the last 9 years,” the company said in a statement.
“However, we are sensitive to the legal parameters attendant keeping a broadcast personality on air while they are seeking public office. Accordingly, we have taken steps and imposed guidelines to ensure that Bill’s on-air presence over the coming months and until he becomes a legally qualified candidate, are in accordance with New Jersey election law, applicable FCC guidance, and industry standards and best practices for such circumstances.”
Townsquare added it will “will remain neutral with respect to a Spadea candidacy and does not endorse any political candidates or parties.”
It’s unclear what Townsquare means in saying Spadea will remain on air until he is a “qualified candidate.”
The company declined further comment. Spadea did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
A formal timeline for next year’s elections has not been set, but candidates are required by law to register with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission soon after they begin raising money. Candidates have until March to file signatures to officially run in the primary.
Though the primary is still a year away, Spadea joins four other declared candidates on the Republican side of the race: state Sen. Jon Bramnick, real estate broker Robert Canfield, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, and former state Sen. Ed Durr.
There are also four candidates running in the Democratic primary: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney have also declared. Others are expected to follow.
Whoever wins the parties’ nominations will face off for an open governor’s seat in a closely watched election next fall. Though New Jersey often chooses Democrats in federal elections and registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans here by about 1 million, the Garden State has frequently gone back and forth between parties when picking a governor.
Spadea is expected to veer right in the Republican race, courting conservative, pro-Trump voters, which could given him an edge in a low-turnout primary in which the party’s base plays a big role. Durr, though, could pull votes away from him. Bramnick is running a decidedly anti-Trump campaign, while Ciattarelli has endorsed Trump but is known as a moderate.
Trump made an appearance on Spadea’s show last month in which he thanked the host for his support and called him “fantastic.”
A big question is: If a pro-Trump candidate such as Spadea wins the primary, how well will they fare in the general election in a Democratic-leaning state?
Spadea has also been an active fundraiser for Republican candidates across the state and held his own events touting what he calls his “Common Sense” platform.
In his video, Spadea highlights ring-wing issues and talking points. He criticizes “radical, liberal nonsense our kids are taught in school” as a shot of a drag queen reading to children flashes across the screen.
He promises to make “tough budget cuts that scare the career politicians” and fix school funding to lower property taxes for “suburban parents.”
He also mentions immigration, saying he’ll stop President Joe Biden from “using our state as a dumping ground for his illegals” and “end the handouts they get from Phil Murphy and weak sell-out Republicans.”
Spadea does have the support of one of the state’s most powerful political bosses: Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore. Both Gilmore and Bill Stepien, who once was a campaign manager for both former Gov. Chris Christie and Trump, have worked on Spadea’s political action committee.
Spadea also took a direct shot at Ciattarelli, who is running for governor a third straight time, four years after nearly unseating Murphy in 2021.
“Here’s a news flash: Republicans are never going to take back our state if we nominate a 35-year career politician who’s already lost twice for governor,” Spadea said in his video.
“If you’re OK with more of the same, the other Republicans running for governor will give you exactly that,” he added. “I’m running for the people who are sick and tired of expecting little from the politicians we elect, and getting even less.”
When he announced his campaign in April, Ciattarelli took a veiled shot at Spadea, saying the party needs a “candidate with a message that attracts unaffiliated and independent voters — not one who repels them with personal insults and extreme rhetoric.”
Critics, meanwhile, argue Spadea is now pro-Trump after criticizing him in the past. Former advisors to Trump, including New Jersey native and resident Kellyanne Conway, formed a super PAC to counter Spadea.
Spadea’s career took off when he was chairman of the College Republican National Committee in the mid-1990s and served as a national youth co-ordinator for President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign.
Spadea was the Republican nominee for the U.S. House in Central Jersey’s 12th District in 2004 but lost to incumbent Democrat Rush Holt. He then lost a bid for state Assembly in 2012.
A Cherry Hill native and Princeton resident, he was also a corporate vice president for Weichert Realtors from 1999 to 2013.
Spadea hosted “Chasing News” on Channel 9 from 2013 to 2020 and became the morning host on 101.5 in 2015.
On the radio, Spadea has been an outspoken critic of Murphy, especially during the pandemic, and faced criticism of his own for his right-leaning stances.
Ben Dworkin, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University, said New Jersey so far has not had what other states have: “a real all-in, drag-out battle over the future of the Republican Party.”
“Now, you’re gonna have this fight, with Spadea leading the MAGA forces in the New Jersey Republican Party, with Bramnick leading the anti-Trump forces, and with Ciattarelli trying to find a balance between the two,” Dworkin said. “It’s gonna be fascinating.”
Dworkin also expects Spadea’s opponents to look into whether he used his radio show “as a significant soap box to project his views on government.”
“I think his opponents will clearly be reviewing every one of those and trying to find violations of campaign election law, speaking like a candidate and getting free airtime,” Dworkin said.
Stories by Brent Johnson
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.