A New Jersey Radio Host Leverages Gubernatorial Campaign to Justify Bigotry
Bill Spadea has emerged as New Jersey's leading pro-Trump commentator, actively promoting anti-vaccine views and endorsing conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
TroibNews 
The recordings were ugly.
Sal Bonaccorso, the mayor of Clark, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City with a population of 16,000, used the n-word and made light of lynching Black individuals. “We fucking hang the spooks up there,” Bonaccorso was recorded saying in one of the covert conversations, which the town purportedly spent $400,000 to keep from becoming public amidst threats of a whistleblower lawsuit.
While most New Jersey Republicans condemned his remarks, conservative radio host Bill Spadea, who is running for governor, publicly defended Bonaccorso. Utilizing his widely listened-to drive-time radio show, he labeled the mayor as a “very competent and successful” victim of unfair scrutiny. Subsequently, Spadea joined Bonaccorso in a parade and is planning to raise funds for him this month.
"You can always tell the guy who's doing the great job because they come at him and pick on things that have been said,” Spadea remarked.
This isn’t the first occasion Spadea has leveraged his platform at NJ 101.5-FM—known for its history of racial provocations—to support individuals with extremist or biased views. Once regarded as a mainstream Republican figure who unsuccessfully ran for office twice, he has emerged as the most influential pro-Trump commentator in New Jersey, endorsing anti-vaccine rhetoric and right-wing conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
New Jersey predominantly follows a Democratic agenda, with nearly one million more registered voters in the party than in the Republican camp. Voters do show a willingness to elect Republicans when the focus is on issues like high living costs and political corruption, distancing themselves from culture war matters that are commonly emphasized in the party elsewhere.
A recent example can be seen in Pennsylvania, where Republicans nominated Doug Mastriano—a far-right conspiracy theorist—for the gubernatorial race two years ago. However, voters, who lean more conservative than those in New Jersey, decisively opted for Democrat Josh Shapiro by a 15-point margin.
“We’ve seen this happen in other states than New Jersey. These folks are sometimes successful in winning the Republican nomination and have their hats handed to them in the general elections,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray explained.
While Murray is “loath” to forecast New Jersey political dynamics, he does not envision a pathway for a candidate like Spadea.
“There’s no way that someone who has cloaked themselves in the racial and cultural divisiveness that embodies Trumpism could win a [statewide] general election in New Jersey,” Murray stated.
Despite this, Spadea's candidacy and considerable media presence might influence other Republican candidates to adopt more hardline policy positions while ensuring his own ideas remain salient as the 2025 election approaches. Two of his fellow declared candidates—former Sen. Ed Durr and former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli—have voiced support for Trump. In contrast, a third candidate, former state Sen. Jon Bramnick, is positioning his campaign as a traditional, anti-Trump Republican.
“Bill Spadea’s the reason Republicans keep losing elections,” Bramnick asserted. “He appeals to a very limited number of people, and he gets a lot of attention, and he’s the reason the Republicans lose. The swing voters, the moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats, are not voting for Bill Spadea.”
Spadea did not provide any comments but shared a request for an interview on X, claiming, “Real reporters and actual news sources don't approach interviews with their preconceived notions in tow.”
His political views have shifted further rightward in recent years. In June, he officially announced his long-anticipated gubernatorial bid, denouncing “insider establishment power brokers” and portraying himself as an “outsider they can’t control.” This came after a year of preparation supported by former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien and Ocean County GOP Chair George Gilmore, a heavy-hitter in New Jersey's Republican circles.
During the pandemic, Spadea frequently showcased Ian Smith, a gym owner who disregarded COVID-19 lockdowns and promoted anti-vaccine conspiracies, even after Smith used a bullhorn at a public rally bearing the logo of the New Jersey European Heritage Association, a white supremacist group. Smith claimed through a lawyer that he had been "handed the megaphone" and had not invited the organization. Following a failed congressional campaign fervently backed by Spadea, Smith has been known to share overtly anti-Semitic views online.
In 2022, Spadea predicted Pennsylvania was “poised for the same dramatic change that we saw in Florida” and described Mastriano as “PA's version of Ron DeSantis.”
“Spadea ‘is the Doug Mastriano of New Jersey,” argued veteran Democratic operative Julie Roginsky, who, like many New Jersey Democrats, believes Spadea's chances in a general election are slim. “Donald Trump couldn’t win New Jersey, and the poor man’s Donald Trump certainly can’t win New Jersey.”
Governor Phil Murphy narrowly secured reelection in 2021 against Ciattarelli, marking him as the first Democratic governor to achieve reelection in 44 years. Some within New Jersey’s Democratic Party, wary of voters’ inclination to choose Republican governors, privately concede that a Spadea candidacy could bolster their chances of retaining the governorship.
Spadea shows no signs of moderating his approach. After hosting Bonaccorso on his show and sharing images of the two at public events, he also defended another individual who used a slur unrelated to New Jersey. Following a suspension for Red Sox player Jarren Duran after he called a taunting fan a “fucking f—t,” Spadea criticized the decision on his radio program.
“Right now, you’ve got laws in New Jersey that protect you from being offended by somebody’s off-color joke. I’ll give you an example: That Boston Red Sox player who used a derogatory term against gays which actually can translate into a word meaning a bundle of sticks or a cigarette in London,” Spadea elaborated on his mid-August show.
“And he got suspended for two games. Got suspended! And I’m like, ‘how stupid is that?’ Most gay guys you talk to, they’re like, ‘yeah, I don’t care, we call each other names.’ So we’ve got such a stupid society. And what made it worse is the idiot Red Sox organization donated his salary to some LGBTQ alphabet soup kids organization.”
Spadea did not clarify which New Jersey law he was referencing or how a Massachusetts baseball player's actions related to it. He also did not address whether he believes non-Black individuals should be allowed to use the n-word without facing social or professional consequences.
Instead, he labeled a PMG reporter as a “shill for the liberal left” and criticized what he calls “cancel culture.”
“Anyone who heard the show’s segment knows that I was criticizing cancel culture and DEI in today’s society. It’s ruining professional and amateur sports,” he stated. “Look no further than boxing in the 2024 Paris Games to see what happens [when] woke nonsense takes over.”
Christian Fuscarino, head of the LGBTQ advocacy group Garden State Equality, remarked, “it’s odd to criticize a sports team for recognizing that words matter and supporting LGBTQ+ youth over outdated, offensive language.”
Fuscarino noted that Republicans' focus on gender identity issues in recent elections has largely failed to resonate with voters. In the 2023 state legislative elections, Republicans campaigning against new sex education standards and the teaching of gender identity in public schools lost six Assembly seats and one Senate seat.
“The folks who actually show up to the ballot box, that messaging doesn’t reach them,” Fuscarino pointed out. “So while it might work for the type of radio personality, it doesn’t actually translate to winning an election.”
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
Sal Bonaccorso, the mayor of Clark, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City with a population of 16,000, used the n-word and made light of lynching Black individuals. “We fucking hang the spooks up there,” Bonaccorso was recorded saying in one of the covert conversations, which the town purportedly spent $400,000 to keep from becoming public amidst threats of a whistleblower lawsuit.
While most New Jersey Republicans condemned his remarks, conservative radio host Bill Spadea, who is running for governor, publicly defended Bonaccorso. Utilizing his widely listened-to drive-time radio show, he labeled the mayor as a “very competent and successful” victim of unfair scrutiny. Subsequently, Spadea joined Bonaccorso in a parade and is planning to raise funds for him this month.
"You can always tell the guy who's doing the great job because they come at him and pick on things that have been said,” Spadea remarked.
This isn’t the first occasion Spadea has leveraged his platform at NJ 101.5-FM—known for its history of racial provocations—to support individuals with extremist or biased views. Once regarded as a mainstream Republican figure who unsuccessfully ran for office twice, he has emerged as the most influential pro-Trump commentator in New Jersey, endorsing anti-vaccine rhetoric and right-wing conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
New Jersey predominantly follows a Democratic agenda, with nearly one million more registered voters in the party than in the Republican camp. Voters do show a willingness to elect Republicans when the focus is on issues like high living costs and political corruption, distancing themselves from culture war matters that are commonly emphasized in the party elsewhere.
A recent example can be seen in Pennsylvania, where Republicans nominated Doug Mastriano—a far-right conspiracy theorist—for the gubernatorial race two years ago. However, voters, who lean more conservative than those in New Jersey, decisively opted for Democrat Josh Shapiro by a 15-point margin.
“We’ve seen this happen in other states than New Jersey. These folks are sometimes successful in winning the Republican nomination and have their hats handed to them in the general elections,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray explained.
While Murray is “loath” to forecast New Jersey political dynamics, he does not envision a pathway for a candidate like Spadea.
“There’s no way that someone who has cloaked themselves in the racial and cultural divisiveness that embodies Trumpism could win a [statewide] general election in New Jersey,” Murray stated.
Despite this, Spadea's candidacy and considerable media presence might influence other Republican candidates to adopt more hardline policy positions while ensuring his own ideas remain salient as the 2025 election approaches. Two of his fellow declared candidates—former Sen. Ed Durr and former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli—have voiced support for Trump. In contrast, a third candidate, former state Sen. Jon Bramnick, is positioning his campaign as a traditional, anti-Trump Republican.
“Bill Spadea’s the reason Republicans keep losing elections,” Bramnick asserted. “He appeals to a very limited number of people, and he gets a lot of attention, and he’s the reason the Republicans lose. The swing voters, the moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats, are not voting for Bill Spadea.”
Spadea did not provide any comments but shared a request for an interview on X, claiming, “Real reporters and actual news sources don't approach interviews with their preconceived notions in tow.”
His political views have shifted further rightward in recent years. In June, he officially announced his long-anticipated gubernatorial bid, denouncing “insider establishment power brokers” and portraying himself as an “outsider they can’t control.” This came after a year of preparation supported by former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien and Ocean County GOP Chair George Gilmore, a heavy-hitter in New Jersey's Republican circles.
During the pandemic, Spadea frequently showcased Ian Smith, a gym owner who disregarded COVID-19 lockdowns and promoted anti-vaccine conspiracies, even after Smith used a bullhorn at a public rally bearing the logo of the New Jersey European Heritage Association, a white supremacist group. Smith claimed through a lawyer that he had been "handed the megaphone" and had not invited the organization. Following a failed congressional campaign fervently backed by Spadea, Smith has been known to share overtly anti-Semitic views online.
In 2022, Spadea predicted Pennsylvania was “poised for the same dramatic change that we saw in Florida” and described Mastriano as “PA's version of Ron DeSantis.”
“Spadea ‘is the Doug Mastriano of New Jersey,” argued veteran Democratic operative Julie Roginsky, who, like many New Jersey Democrats, believes Spadea's chances in a general election are slim. “Donald Trump couldn’t win New Jersey, and the poor man’s Donald Trump certainly can’t win New Jersey.”
Governor Phil Murphy narrowly secured reelection in 2021 against Ciattarelli, marking him as the first Democratic governor to achieve reelection in 44 years. Some within New Jersey’s Democratic Party, wary of voters’ inclination to choose Republican governors, privately concede that a Spadea candidacy could bolster their chances of retaining the governorship.
Spadea shows no signs of moderating his approach. After hosting Bonaccorso on his show and sharing images of the two at public events, he also defended another individual who used a slur unrelated to New Jersey. Following a suspension for Red Sox player Jarren Duran after he called a taunting fan a “fucking f—t,” Spadea criticized the decision on his radio program.
“Right now, you’ve got laws in New Jersey that protect you from being offended by somebody’s off-color joke. I’ll give you an example: That Boston Red Sox player who used a derogatory term against gays which actually can translate into a word meaning a bundle of sticks or a cigarette in London,” Spadea elaborated on his mid-August show.
“And he got suspended for two games. Got suspended! And I’m like, ‘how stupid is that?’ Most gay guys you talk to, they’re like, ‘yeah, I don’t care, we call each other names.’ So we’ve got such a stupid society. And what made it worse is the idiot Red Sox organization donated his salary to some LGBTQ alphabet soup kids organization.”
Spadea did not clarify which New Jersey law he was referencing or how a Massachusetts baseball player's actions related to it. He also did not address whether he believes non-Black individuals should be allowed to use the n-word without facing social or professional consequences.
Instead, he labeled a PMG reporter as a “shill for the liberal left” and criticized what he calls “cancel culture.”
“Anyone who heard the show’s segment knows that I was criticizing cancel culture and DEI in today’s society. It’s ruining professional and amateur sports,” he stated. “Look no further than boxing in the 2024 Paris Games to see what happens [when] woke nonsense takes over.”
Christian Fuscarino, head of the LGBTQ advocacy group Garden State Equality, remarked, “it’s odd to criticize a sports team for recognizing that words matter and supporting LGBTQ+ youth over outdated, offensive language.”
Fuscarino noted that Republicans' focus on gender identity issues in recent elections has largely failed to resonate with voters. In the 2023 state legislative elections, Republicans campaigning against new sex education standards and the teaching of gender identity in public schools lost six Assembly seats and one Senate seat.
“The folks who actually show up to the ballot box, that messaging doesn’t reach them,” Fuscarino pointed out. “So while it might work for the type of radio personality, it doesn’t actually translate to winning an election.”
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
