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Robert Canfield

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Robert Canfield
Image of Robert Canfield

Education

Bachelor's

University of Valley Forge, 2013

Graduate

Liberty University, 2019

Personal
Birthplace
Waterbury, Conn.
Religion
Assemblies of God
Profession
Real Estate Broker
Contact

Robert Canfield (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of New Jersey. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on June 10, 2025.

Canfield completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Robert Canfield was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Valley Forge in 2013 and a graduate degree from Liberty University in 2019. His career experience includes working as a real estate broker. He has been affiliated with ANJRPC, NRA, NAR, and NJAR.[1]

2025 battleground election

See also: New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2025 (June 10 Republican primary)

Ballotpedia identified the June 10 Republican primary as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Jack Ciattarelli (R) defeated Bill Spadea and four other candidates in the June 10, 2025, Republican primary for governor of New Jersey.[2][3] Gov. Phil Murphy (D) was term-limited, meaning, the office was open. The last Republican governor was Chris Christie, who left office in 2018.

Rider University's Micah Rasmussen said, "It has been a long time since it’s been up for grabs, and so, all of our top figures on the Republican side and the Democratic side are finding this an irresistible race to jump at."[4]

Among Republicans, Ciattarelli, Spadea, and Jon Bramnick led in polling, endorsements, and fundraising.[5][6]

This was Ciattarelli's third run for governor. He first ran in 2017, when he lost in the Republican primary to Kim Guadagno. He won the Republican primary in 2021 and lost 51–48% to Murphy in the general election. Ciattarelli previously served on the Raritan Borough Council and the Somerset County Board of Commissioners before representing the 16th District of the New Jersey General Assembly.[7]

Ciattarelli's campaign website said, "When you compare the records of the announced and presumptive GOP gubernatorial candidates as individual vote-getters and party leaders, there is no comparison. By far, Jack Ciattarelli is superior."[8] President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Ciattarelli on May 12, 2025, writing on Truth Social, "Jack Ciattarelli is a WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, ELECT JACK CIATTARELLI!"[9]

Bramnick represented District 21 of the New Jersey General Assembly from 2003 to 2022, when he was elected to the state Senate. In the former role, he served as Assembly minority leader. Bramnick began his legal career as an attorney in New York City.[10] He was a lawyer, a business law professor, and founded the law firm Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas & Woodruff.[11]

Before the 2024 presidential election, Bramnick said, "If Donald Trump wins New Jersey, I will absolutely withdraw. Because if that’s what New Jersey wants, I ain’t your guy."[12] His campaign website listed the economy, community safety, sustainable energy, preventing overdevelopment, education, healthcare, and government efficiency as key issues.[13]

Spadea was a radio host, most recently of the Bill Spadea Show.[14] He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and hosted Chasing News with Bill Spadea.[15] Spadea's first run for office was for New Jersey's 12th Congressional District in 2004. He also ran in a 2012 special election for a state Assembly seat.[15]

Spadea's campaign website listed illegal immigration, the economy, and infrastructure as priorities.[16] In a campaign ad, Spadea said, "I'm a real conservative, tough on immigration, and will cut taxes. As your governor, I will put you and New Jersey first."[17]

Justin Barbera, Hans Herberg, and Mario Kranjac also ran. Ed Durr (R) dropped out of the race and endorsed Spadea in March 2025.[18]

Elections

2025

See also: New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2025

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Governor of New Jersey

Mikie Sherrill, Jack Ciattarelli, Vic Kaplan, and Joanne Kuniansky are running in the general election for Governor of New Jersey on November 4, 2025.

Candidate
Image of Mikie Sherrill
Mikie Sherrill (D)
Image of Jack Ciattarelli
Jack Ciattarelli (R)
Image of Vic Kaplan
Vic Kaplan (L)
Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Jersey

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Jersey on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mikie Sherrill
Mikie Sherrill
 
34.0
 
286,244
Image of Ras Baraka
Ras Baraka
 
20.7
 
173,951
Image of Steve Fulop
Steve Fulop
 
16.0
 
134,573
Image of Josh Gottheimer
Josh Gottheimer
 
11.6
 
97,384
Image of Sean Spiller
Sean Spiller
 
10.6
 
89,472
Image of Stephen Sweeney
Stephen Sweeney
 
7.1
 
59,811

Total votes: 841,435
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jack Ciattarelli
Jack Ciattarelli
 
67.8
 
316,283
Image of Bill Spadea
Bill Spadea
 
21.7
 
101,408
Image of Jon Bramnick
Jon Bramnick
 
6.2
 
29,130
Image of Mario Kranjac
Mario Kranjac
 
2.7
 
12,782
Image of Justin Barbera
Justin Barbera
 
1.4
 
6,743
Image of Hans Herberg
Hans Herberg (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
0

Total votes: 466,346
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[19] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[20] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

The link below shows polls for this race aggregated by RealClearPolitics, where available.

Gubernatorial election in New Jersey, 2025: Republican primary election polls
Poll Date Republican Party Bacon Republican Party Barbera Republican Party Bramnick Republican Party Canfield Republican Party Ciattarrelli Republican Party Durr Republican Party Fazzone Republican Party Herberg Republican Party Kranjac Republican Party Spadea Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size[21] Sponsor[22]
Emerson College May 11-13, 2025 - 2% 8% - 44% - - - 2% 18% 25%[23] ± 5.4 330 LV PIX11/The Hill
National Research Inc. May 6-8, 2025 - - 10% - 54% - - - 2% 23% 11%[24] ± 4 600 LV Jack Ciattarelli campaign
National Research Inc. April 8-10, 2025 - - 9% - 50% - - - 3% 22% 14%[25] ± 4 600 LV Jack Ciattarelli campaign
KA Consulting Feb. 5-7, 2025 - - 4% - 42% 2% - - 2% 13% 35%[26] ± 4 600 LV Kitchen Table Conservatives
Emerson College Jan. 18-21, 2025 3% - 4% 2% 26% 2% 2% 3% - 13% 47%[27] ± 5.3 334 LV PIX11/The Hill
KA Consulting June 12-14, 2024 - - 3% - 44% 2% - - - 11% 38%[28] ± 4 606 LV Kitchen Table Conservatives

Election campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in this election. It does not include information on spending by satellite groups. Click here to access those reports.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[29][30][31]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.



Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Robert Canfield completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Canfield's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Robert Canfield, a committed Republican and advocate for Second Amendment rights, is running for Governor of New Jersey. Raised in Wall and Brick, NJ, Canfield has been a key community figure as a Real Estate Broker Associate and entrepreneur. His campaign champions constitutional freedoms, equitable education funding, and enhanced parental involvement.

Dedicated to safeguarding the right to bear arms, Canfield also proposes to restore the Cost of Living Adjustment for New Jersey’s retired police and fire personnel, acknowledging their service.

A local minister and devoted family man, Canfield's campaign is driven by his faith, conservative values, and a commitment to personal liberty and accountability. Known for his transparent leadership and innovative approaches, he aims to make New Jersey a freer, fairer state.

Canfield is also a firearms instructor, and a HAM Radio operator.

Join Canfield’s movement for a brighter future in New Jersey. Learn more and support his vision on social media @Rob4NJ.
  • Push for Common Sense Gun Laws
  • Give parents the right to their child's education and their right to know what's going on with their child.
  • Bring back the Cost of Living Adjustment for retired First Responders.
Second amendment rights, personal freedoms, protecting parent's rights to decide their children's education.
An elected official should be someone who has integrity. They should be someone who can be trusted to do their job, and try to do what they said they would. They should know what is going on, not just in their office, but in other offices that directly affect them.
I am a strong negotiator. I also know how to work with others to get things that need to get done, done.
The core responsibilities of an elected official is protecting the rights of the people set forth in the Constitution. They should do what is in the best interest of the people, not their own.
My first job was McDonalds and I was there for a month shy of 7 years.
The governor plays a crucial role in managing the state's affairs, ensuring that the government does not infringe on the rights of its citizens. This responsibility extends to both the successes and failures of the state. As the chief executive, the governor oversees the implementation of state laws and the administration of services, influencing nearly every aspect of state governance. This position requires a vigilant approach to protecting individual freedoms while promoting the overall welfare and success of the state.
The most important thing the governor in New Jersey does is sign bills into law. These laws need to be consistent with the rights that each citizen has under the US and State Constitutions. These laws that are passed should also be in the best interest of the State, and it's citizens, not the governor's.
The governor has a lot of power in New Jersey, including the ability to line veto. I believe the governor should be highly involved in the budgeting process, including enacting rules to make a 0 based budget (not spending more than comes in) and keeping the budget slim, while providing what is needed.
This will be used a lot when it comes to the budget. A lot of things that should not be funded, such as committees that are nothing more than a waste of taxpayer money, should be line vetoed.
The governor and legislature should have a mutual respect for one another.
The diversity of the people and landscapes. We have everything from mountains and hiking trails, to the beach and marshlands.
Taxes and people moving to other states with lower taxes will be our problems over the next decade.
An actual natural disaster, man made accident, or terroristic event that has a widespread affect on the people of the state. Not a "health emergency".
Every dollar that is funded by the tax payers should be properly accounted for. The government should be transparent on what projects they spend money on, and should be responsible to not spend more than they bring in.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 30, 2024
  2. New York Times, "New Jersey Governor Primary Election Results," accessed June 10, 2025
  3. Decision Desk HQ, "2025 New Jersey Primaries," accessed June 10, 2025
  4. NJ Spotlight News, "Early analysis of NJ’s gubernatorial race," November 14, 2024
  5. NJ.com, "Who’s leading the 2025 N.J. governor race? New poll shows who leads the crowded battle," January 23, 2025
  6. New Jersey Monitor, "New Jersey governor hopefuls have raised $15.6M so far," January 17, 2025
  7. New Jersey Monitor, "Republican Jack Ciattarelli launches long-anticipated run for governor," April 9, 2024
  8. Jack Ciattarelli 2025 campaign website, "Who can REALLY help Republicans win in 2025?" accessed January 31, 2025
  9. Truth Social, "Trump on May 12, 2025," accessed May 13, 2025
  10. Linkedin, "Jon Bramnick," accessed January 31, 2025
  11. Jon Bramnick 2025 campaign website, "Meet Jon Bramnick," accessed January 31, 2025
  12. Politico, "Independez," March 22, 2024
  13. Jon Bramnick 2025 campaign website, "Issues," accessed January 31, 2025
  14. Bill Spadea 2025 campaign website, "Meet Bill," accessed February 3, 2025
  15. 15.0 15.1 New Jersey Globe, "Bill Spadea will enter GOP governor’s race on June 17," June 7, 2024
  16. Bill Spadea 2025 campaign website, "Priorities for NJ," accessed February 3, 2025
  17. Instagram, "Bill Spadea on July 30, 2024," accessed February 3, 2025
  18. New Jersey Globe, "Durr ends bid for governor, endorses Spadea for GOP nod," March 24, 2025
  19. For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
  20. Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
  21. RV=Registered Voters
    LV=Likely Voters
  22. The sponsor is the person or group that funded all or part of the poll.
  23. Undecided: 23%, Someone else: 2%
  24. Undecided
  25. Undecided
  26. Undecided
  27. Undecided
  28. Undecided
  29. OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
  30. OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
  31. National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021