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Sherrill’s ‘Pork Roll Is Gross’ Quip Becomes Flashpoint in New Jersey Governor’s Race

Ciattarelli’s campaign is using the podcast clip to question her New Jersey bona fides.

Overview

  • During a recent Zach Sang Show appearance, Mikie Sherrill said, “Who eats pork roll? I think that’s gross,” in a lighthearted exchange about the state’s breakfast staple.
  • Republican Jack Ciattarelli posted the clip on X as a campaign ad and framed the remark as evidence that Sherrill lacks authentic New Jersey roots.
  • Sherrill’s team shared the fuller context, saying she was objecting to the term “pork roll” and affirming the North Jersey name “Taylor ham.”
  • The long-running naming divide—Taylor ham in the north versus pork roll in central and southern New Jersey—traces back to John Taylor’s 19th-century Trenton product.
  • New Jersey Democrats countered with video of Ciattarelli saying he uses different names depending on the region, as the exchange continued to circulate widely online.