On Tuesday night of the election, there was no apparent winner in New Jersey’s governor contest. The significant contenders were split by a razor-thin edge as voting results continued to flood in.
The close contest is already a win for Republicans, as Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli surpassed expectations, amid record Republican enthusiasm in the Garden State.
On Tuesday, Democrat incumbent Phil Murphy was primarily anticipated to win easily. Ciattarelli topped Murphy by just over 1,000 votes in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with almost 88 percent of the vote.
Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are locked in an unexpectedly close race for New Jersey governor.
88% in, still expecting a Murphy victory.
But this just goes to show, voting matters!
Republicans had some awesome gains tonight. pic.twitter.com/Wbv5vx9MWO
— Connor Daigle 🇺🇸 (@_ConnorDaigleTX) November 3, 2021
According to Politico, Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli were stuck in a neck-and-neck struggle early Wednesday, with the result too early to tell.
Moreover, the Republican bastion Ciattarelli was depending on — particularly Ocean County, the state’s largest GOP vote-producing county — witnessed excellent attendance. However, traffic to the polls was uncharismatic in the state’s metropolitan, overwhelmingly Democrat districts.
Murphy Already Sounds Like a Loser
Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state by over one million registered voters. On the other hand, massive attendance in GOP areas boosted Ciattarelli’s statistics, making him viable and maybe handing him a win.
Furthermore, as each contender offered remarks during the toss-up on Tuesday night, the Republican candidate appeared far more confident in his odds than Murphy.
“We have delivered a statement to the entire nation,” Ciattarelli told a crowd at his election night H.Q. in Bridgewater, where he already declared a partial victory after exceeding every opinion survey done in the campaign, per the New York Times.
“However, if you look into the history of this state, you’ll notice every time it’s gotten too far off course, the citizens of this state have shoved, pulled, and nudged it right back to where it needs to be.”
In comparison to his Republican opponent, Murphy’s words appeared much more subdued.
“We’re all sad today couldn’t be the event that we intended it to be,” Murphy said from his Asbury Park HQ. “However, as I have stated, when each vote is tallied — and every vote will be tallied — we pray to have another celebration.”
While Democrats hold a sizable majority of registered voters in New Jersey, the state has remained competitive in previous decades, as voters have shown a bias for governors from the opposition party.
A Glimpse into the Future for Democrats
Ciattarelli’s stunning performance comes on the heels of a Republican rout of Democrats in Virginia; Republicans control all three statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. They also appeared to gain control of the Virginia House after Tuesday’s election.
The GOP triumph is a preemptive strike on Democrats a year before the 2022 midterm elections, in which Republicans want to retake control of Congress.
President Biden has recently suffered from low approval ratings, as Americans’ perceptions of his presidency have rapidly deteriorated since he took office in January. Biden’s approval numbers have fallen less than a year into his presidency, as his office tries to deal with various crises.
Not only has President Joe Biden's approval rating fallen to just 42%, but 71% of Americans – and even half of Democrats – say the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the latest NBC News poll. https://t.co/XVD0CwfWAY pic.twitter.com/CIo4PinyEL
— Newsmax (@newsmax) October 31, 2021
According to a Quinnipiac University survey issued on Wednesday, Biden’s approval rating is 15 points lower. The future looks bleak for Democrats; however, the GOP may as well start counting the midterm elections as sure as theirs.
