POLITICS: With Jack Ciattarelli catching Mikie Sherrill in the NJ race for gov, GOPers nationwide need to step up

New Jersey voters just got great news: Though their state leans blue, the race for governor this year won’t be a cakewalk for the Democrat, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

Indeed, an Emerson College/PIX11/The Hill survey out Thursday had her locked in a dead heat with former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R); each drew 43% support.

That’s not much different from an internal Ciatarelli campaign poll, which put the Republican ahead 46% to 45%.

And it amounts to a siren blast signaling that the GOP has an excellent chance of winning — and that the national Republican Party should pull out all the stops to push Ciattarelli over the top.

The poll shows voters sick of the awful reign of outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who faces a dismal 35% approval rating.

It also finds Jerseyans ranking the economy and crime as top issues — issues that plainly favor Ciattarelli and Republicans nationwide.

How can the national party help?

For starters, boost his campaign funds.

The Garden State is a prime media market, split among outlets in New York City, Philadelphia and Jersey itself: Hitting all parts of the state takes money.

Independent committees have already poured millions into this year’s races; the Democratic National Committee just doubled its spending for Sherrill to $3 million, the most it’s ever devoted to a Jersey candidate in an off-year election.

Restore New Jersey, a super PAC backed by the Republican Governors Association, has offered at least $1 million for advertising, but nationwide GOPers could cough up far more.

They could also provide other campaign resources, and send allies to plump for him.

Garden Staters haven’t backed a Republican for president since 1988, and haven’t had a Republican US senator in half a century.

But they did elect Gov. Chris Christie twice in the Aughts and Christine Todd Whitman twice in the ’90s.

Last year, 45% of them backed Donald Trump for president.

So Ciattarelli has a terrific chance.

Help from Republicans — across the nation — could make the difference.