William G. Spadea ( ; born March 25, 1969) is an American businessman and former radio and television host from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, who is also known for his various political campaigns in the state. Spadea has been involved in politics, first as chairman of the

College Republican National Committee The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a national organization for College Republicans, including college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. The organizatio ...

from 1993–95. He was the Republican nominee for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

New Jersey's 12th congressional district New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served in Congress since 2015. The district is known for its research centers and educational institutions such as Princeton University, Rider Un ...

in 2004, and ran as a Republican for the

New Jersey State Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 2012, losing both races. In media, he has been a radio host on New Jersey 101.5 and was the host of ''

Chasing News ''Chasing News with Bill Spadea'' (formerly ''Chasing New Jersey'' and ''Chasing News'') was a news and talk show program broadcast by WWOR-TV, a MyNetworkTV O&O based in Secaucus, New Jersey, and serving New York City, and sister to Fox flagshi ...

''. On June 17, 2024, he announced his candidacy for the

2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election The 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 4, 2025, to elect the governor of New Jersey. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

. On January 30, 2025, he gave up his radio show on NJ 101.5 to focus on his campaign. Spadea lost the Republican primary election, coming in second to

Jack Ciattarelli Giacchino Michael "Jack" Ciattarelli ( ; born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 16th legislative dist ...

Early life and background

Spadea was born on March 25, 1969 in Camden, New Jersey. Spadea graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

with a degree in history in 1991. He is a former

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

receiving and was honorable discharged in 1999.

CRNC chairmanship

Spadea served as the elected Chairman of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). During his term, the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

discontinued funding for the College Republicans. Spadea began a nationwide program to register students with the CRNC. The use of the standard form for recruitment of College Republicans started during his term from 1993 through 1995 and helped the CRNC to get a grasp on its total membership. He kept contact with the membership through a national newspaper titled the ''Broadside'', which was delivered to tens of thousands of College Republicans across the country. Spadea assisted the hundreds of youth efforts that helped elect a Republican Congress for the first time over 40 years in 1994.

Political campaigns and career

2004 House of Representatives campaign

In 2004, Spadea was the Republican nominee for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. During the campaign, he walked 200 miles to each of the 44 towns in the district. He polled over 40% of the vote on Election Day, and was ranked 17th out of 157 GOP challengers nationwide. Spadea’s campaign underperformed the top of the ticket - while George Bush lost by 9%, Spadea lost by 19%. Spadea was successful in raising more money than any other Republican challenger in New Jersey in 2004. He was considered a possible candidate for the United States Senate in 2006. Spadea served as a surrogate speaker for former

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Mayor and

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

in New Jersey.Profile
politickernj.com; accessed October 24, 2014.

2012 New Jersey State Assembly campaign

In 2012, Spadea ran for the state legislature, running for the 16th District's Assembly seat that was vacant after the death of Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi. In the convention to appoint a replacement, he lost by a three to one margin, earning 52 votes, behind Readington Township Committeewoman Donna Simon with 155 votes. Spadea lost his own hometown of Princeton. Spadea failed to top 40% of the vote in his first two political campaigns.

Political organizations

Spadea has also started a

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

called Elect Common Sense, which was announced in 2023. Along with this, he has created an independent expenditure organization named Common Sense Wins, and a nonprofit called the Common Sense Club, in support of conservative policies and "common sense" Republican candidates. Spadea's leadership of the Common Sense Club has been criticized, as the organization contributed less than one percent of the money it raised to support candidates.

2025 New Jersey Governor campaign

Spadea hinted that he would seek the 2025 GOP nomination for NJ Governor in late 2022, and announced in June 2024 that he is running. Spadea debated three other leading candidates in the Republican primary for the gubernatorial race on February 4, 2025. Spadea fought with candidate Jack Ciatterelli over their support for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, with both men accusing the other of inconsistent or insufficient support. Ciatterelli gained Trump's endorsement later in the race, and he eventually won the Republican primary on June 10th. Spadea came in second with about 22% of the vote.

Broadcasting

Beginning in December 2015, Spadea has been the morning drive time host on New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW), replacing long time morning personality Jim Gearhart, while continuing to host the ''Chasing News'' television show until its end in 2020. He left the show to run for Governor of New Jersey in January of 2025.

Political positions

In June 2018, Spadea advocated for a state constitutional amendment to revoke the Mount Laurel doctrine, arguing the imposition of unnecessary housing development increased tax burdens unfairly. Spadea was outspoken and critical of the handling of the pandemic by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...

, specifically the lockdowns and other mandates. Spadea also emceed a December event hosted by the New York Young Republicans whose attendees reportedly included white nationalists. Spadea has been criticized by some for his on-air advocacy against the need for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

vaccination and other routine vaccinations in New Jersey. In 2020, Spadea commented on-air that people should stop wearing masks because, "they don't work and make you look stupid," which led to some listeners to file complaints with the FCC. He has been accused of spreading misinformation about the 2020 election and vaccines. Spadea was initially a strong supporter of Donald Trump. He changed his position in 2021, but eventually supported Trump again by 2024.

Personal life

From 1999 to 2013, Spadea worked as a corporate vice president for education and career development in the real estate industry for Weichert, Realtors. He lives in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

with his wife.Bill Spadea website
accessed May 13, 2025.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spadea, Bill 1969 births American television journalists Boston University alumni College Republican National Committee chairs Living people New Jersey Republicans Place of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Princeton, New Jersey American male journalists Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2025 United States elections