New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller said he won’t qualify for matching funds, leaving him to rely on a super PAC funded by his union to win the Democratic nomination for governor.
While the NJEA is spending millions to propel their candidate through the primary in a six-candidate race, Spiller did not hit the $580,000 mark to participate in the state’s gubernatorial public financing program, which matches every dollar raised over $180,000 with $2 of public funds, up to $5.5 million.
Now Spiller, the former mayor of Montclair, won’t make it on the debate stage with the other five candidates. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission will award two more Democratic debates on Friday, and attendance is limited to those who have qualified for matching funds.
“From the moment I entered this race, I knew I wouldn’t be the candidate of Wall Street donors, party insiders, or wealthy developers,” said Spiller. “While we will fall short of matching funds, our momentum continues to grow. Together, we’ll build a New Jersey where everyone has a seat at the table, and no one is left behind.”
The NJEA has suggested it could spend $35 million to help Spiller win the June 10 primary.
“Over the past nine months, we built a coalition of support from every corner of the state by staying true to our values and beliefs that support has propelled us into second place in the polls, led us to our strongest fundraising quarter yet with thousands of grassroots donors and shown New Jerseyans that they have a real choice in this election no matter what the insiders want them to believe,” Spiller said.
Spiller said the race is “much more to me than who can collect the most cash and dole out the most favors.”
“It’s about giving working people in this state a voice again and doing what’s right to protect New Jersey from the disaster that is Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” he said. “It’s about people, not money and machine politics.
While the rules have changed considerably – county organization lines are gone, New Jersey now has office-block ballots, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision empowers super PACs, no candidate has won a contested gubernatorial primary using Spiller’s strategy.
