MEDFORD — Pushing back against election conspiracy theories, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli told a South Jersey crowd on Tuesday that the upcoming New Jersey election is not "rigged."

"Don’t let anybody stay home because they think we can’t win or because it’s rigged," Ciattarelli, who’s challenging Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, said at a GOP event in Burlington County. "It’s not rigged here in New Jersey. We can win this race."

Since his reelection loss last year, former President Donald Trump has pushed the unfounded accusation that the 2020 election was stolen from him — a claim some blame for the loss in January of two U.S. Senate seats in the Georgia runoff elections.

Ciattarelli’s comments, delivered to a crowd of more than 100 jammed into the small Burlington County Republican headquarters, came as he campaigned with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. Ciattarelli made the remark while saying he would institute a voter ID requirement.

Burlington County was once dominated by Republicans but now leans Democratic.

McDaniel is the only national Republican figure who has joined Ciattarelli on the campaign trail. The Michigan native gave a three-and-a-half minute speech, during which she compared Murphy to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who resigned amid numerous sexual harassment allegations and whose state, like New Jersey, saw thousands of deaths in nursing homes early in the pandemic.

"Let’s not forget about his disastrous record on Covid, where so many people lost loved ones," McDaniel said. "You talk about Cuomo. Phil Murphy is just as bad."

McDaniel said she comes from the "Republic of Michigan," where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Covid restrictions have drawn heavy backlash from the right.

"I actually might have a governor who’s worse than yours," McDaniel said.

Murphy has been eager to tie Ciattarelli, who had a moderate voting record during his three terms in the Assembly, to Trump. A niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), McDaniel, a Trump loyalist, dropped the "Romney" from her name, according to the Washington Post, at the former president’s request. Mitt Romney has often spoken out against Trump.

Ciattarelli’s decision to stress that the election isn’t rigged shows that just as Murphy is bringing up the former president to excite the Democratic base and keep suburban, formerly swing voters in the Democrats’ column, Ciattarelli is having to worry about Trump’s rhetoric about stolen elections depressing his base.

There was no mention of Trump at the event, aside from a few attendees wearing hats emblazoned with his name. The focus was kept to Murphy’s record on tangential coronavirus issues, such as like long lines at Motor Vehicle Commission offices, difficulty in getting unemployment checks and learning loss from the closure of public schools.

Ciattarelli brought up other common campaign themes as well, like Murphy’s decision to declare a state of emergency as the remnants of Hurricane Ida pounded the state, resulting in 30 deaths, and the treatment of women on his 2017 campaign and early on in his administration.

"Phil Murphy’s been calling me all kinds of names. And guess what: Two weeks from today, he can start calling me governor," Ciattarelli said.

The latest public poll on the race, from Stockton University last month, showed Murphy leading Ciattarelli by nine points.

Although New Jersey has a million more registered Democrats than Republicans, Ciattarelli pointed out that it’s been 44 years since a Democratic governor was reelected, and that the election of Democratic presidents has in recent decades been followed by New Jersey electing Republican governors.

"I’m here to tell you I’ll be damned if any of those two trends are coming to an end under my watch," Ciattarelli said.