GOP lawmaker to announce 2017 run for New Jersey governor

The first Republican to join the race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie is announcing his 2017 candidacy.

Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli on Tuesday will declare his candidacy in Manville. 

Please feel free to join me at my gubernatorial announcement – Manville high school, 3:30 today. 1100 Brooks Blvd. Manville, NJ 08835.

— Jack Ciattarelli (@Ciattarelli2017) October 4, 2016

Ciattarelli will join Democrat Phil Murphy as the only two official candidates in the race. He has said, unlike Christie, he does not support Donald Trump.

The owner and publisher of Galen Publishing, Ciattarelli represents a district that includes Princeton. He’s been in the Democrat-led Legislature since 2012.

Assemblyman Ciattarelli represents New Jersey’s 16th Legislative District, which includes parts of the following counties: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset.

The district includes the following towns: Branchburg, Delaware, Flemington,Hillsborough, Manville, Millstone (Somerset),Montgomery, Princeton, Raritan (Hunterdon), Readington,Rocky Hill, Somerville, South Brunswick, Stockton

He says he considers education a key issue and that the state has been heading in the wrong direction under Democrats and Republicans for decades.

Christie’s term ends in January 2018. The Republican and Democratic primaries are in June 2017. The general election is in November 2017.