New Jersey Governor’s Race Takes a Breakfast Twist
MONTCLAIR, N.J. — The New Jersey governor’s race kicked off this week, with Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli unveiling a video that allegedly shows his opponents dismissing a beloved state breakfast staple.
“Who eats pork roll? I think it’s gross,” exclaimed Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill during a recent episode of the Zach Sang Show. Her comment seemed to draw attention and perhaps embarrassment, given New Jersey’s affinity for this morning dish.
Ciattarelli seized the moment, turning Sherrill’s remarks into a campaign ad. He shared it on X, pointing out her background as a Virginia native who relocated to affluent Montclair in 2010.
“Hey Mikie. Tell me you’re not from Jersey without actually saying it,” he stated, seemingly ridiculing her out-of-state roots.
In the wake of recent controversies regarding her past misconduct at the Naval Academy, Sherrill’s campaign has faced its challenges. A podcast clip suggests she doesn’t actually mind pork roll itself but rather the term “pork roll.”
“Taylor ham or pork roll, what do you call it?” asked San during the podcast. Sherrill appeared to dodge the question.
“Now, you’re from Wayne—that’s Taylor ham!” she asserted, putting some emphasis into her response.
Thus, Sherrill’s rebuttal has shifted from a damaging moment in her campaign to becoming part of the ongoing debate about this iconic dish that defines New Jersey breakfasts.
The split over Taylor ham versus pork roll has been a longstanding issue in the state, with those in the north preferring the former, while residents in the central and southern regions favor the latter.
NJ Democrats quickly jumped on the bandwagon, sharing their take with a clip featuring Ciattarelli, asserting, “When I’m in South Jersey, I’m all about the pork roll; tomorrow, I’ll be someone else in Bergen County.”
Originally made in Trenton in 1856 by John Taylor, Taylor ham was marketed for years as “Taylor’s Prepared Ham.” However, it was rebranded after the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 clarified its definition.
Determining the exact geographical divide is tricky, but it seems to begin around the Union County-Middlesex County border, near Staten Island’s southern tip.
Interestingly, NJ.com even created a map that attempts to illustrate this so-called “Mason-Dixon Line of New Jersey.”
As a Montclair resident, Sherrill is firmly in Taylor ham territory, while Ciattarelli, who lives in Somerville, seems to embrace the pork roll side of New Jersey’s culinary debate.
