New Jersey voters decided Tuesday between reelecting the current governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, or choosing his Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli. The outcome is unknown at this early hour, but initial results show Murphy with a substantial lead.
If Murphy does win, he’ll become the first Democrat to be reelected governor in the Garden State since 1977.
Before the vote, a Monmouth University poll showed him leading 50% to 39% among voters in the left-leaning state. Registered New Jersey voters rated tax policies as a major issue in the race, followed by education, COVID-19, and crime.
Ciattarelli campaigned against Murphy by pointing out his heavy-handed approach to COVID, saying that has hurt the state and the rights of its citizens, according to NJ Spotlight News. Ciattarelli contended that people should have the right to make up their own minds on personal health decisions like COVID vaccines. “The choice is theirs,” he said in the final debate of the campaign.
Murphy said Ciattarelli’s views on vaccine decisions would fit better for a candidate in Texas or Florida than New Jersey. “We know vaccines work. We know masking works,” Murphy said. “For folks to ignore that (and) disregard that playbook is putting lives needlessly at risk.”
Murphy has vowed to sign a Reproductive Freedom Act enshrining abortion rights into state law, while Ciattarelli has promised to lower property taxes, which are among the highest in the country.
Political observers are watching both the New Jersey race and Virginia’s race for governor to see if they reveal any big trends before the 2022 congressional midterm elections.
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