Four candidates running for the Republican nomination engaged in a spirited debate about the issues facing the Garden State.

Spadea referred to Ciattarelli’s “lobbyist buddies,” name-checking Princeton Public Affairs, presumably referring to Ciattarelli’s tightness with lobbyist Dale Florio. Ciattarelli shot back by noting Spadea’s association with Ocean County GOP Chair George Gilmore, who he said was “running his campaign.”

Six New Jersey Democrats, including two sitting members of Congress, the mayors of the state’s two largest cities, the head of the biggest teachers union in the state and a former top lawmaker squared off Sunday in the first debate this year in the contest for governor.

Six Democratic candidates vying for New Jersey’s governorship spoke directly to voters at the first debate of the season Sunday night in an effort to differentiate themselves in a crowded field. The candidates are U.