Former President Donald Trump has announced another run for the White House after losing the 2020 election for a second term. This will be Trump’s third run for president.

But many Republican leaders in New Jersey were silent or noncommittal on if they would support Trump this time around.

“There are not many states where Trump is less popular than in New Jersey,” says Micah Rasmussen, of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics.

One exception is Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties from Democrat to Republican in 2019. At the time, Van Drew told Trump that he had his “undying support.”

“President Trump is the one who brought him to the game,” Rasmussen says.

Trump rewarded Van Drew in 2020 with a presidential rally in Wildwood.

But most other Republicans – including the head of New Jersey's Republican party - kept their options open for now.

Republican state chairman Bob Hugin wrote in a statement, "Whoever the New Jersey Republican primary voters decide our candidate will be, will have the full and emphatic support of the New Jersey Republican Party."

And state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, who was co-chair of Trump's 2020 campaign, stated, "My focus at this time is on our State's Legislative races. My goal is to get our Republican Caucus to the majority position. I plan on devoting my energies to seeing that happen."

One of Trump's potential opponents for the 2024 presidential nomination is former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

“He'd want to be the antithesis to Trump. But you have other candidates who are very clearly going to stake out that ground, whether its [former] Vice President [Mike] Pence or whether it's [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis,” Rasmussen says.

Trump's run could have a big impact on those races for state Legislature positions next year, as well as the race to succeed Murphy as governor in 2025.

“It's inevitable now that ‘Send Trump a message’ - whether to support him or to oppose him - is going to be part of the calculation,” Rasmussen says.

Trump announced his candidacy Tuesday during a prime-time speech from his Mar-A-Lago resort.