While there were warnings for a potential Democratic defeat in Virginia, one of only two states voting for governor in this off year election, polls showed the incumbent Democrat coasting toward re-election in deep blue New Jersey.
Instead, Tuesday’s election was a nail biter with the race for governor undetermined as most residents went to sleep.
Republican Jack Ciattarelli was dismissed by pollsters and the media, but voters ultimately didn’t accept the faux progressive platform of Gov. Phil Murphy, a Wall Street millionaire who virtually purchased his 2017 nomination and then fought to deny potential challengers off the primary ballot, where they could test his weak and contradictory policies.
As the New Jersey returns came in Tuesday night, Ciattarelli maintained a slight lead with a total of 1,136,778 to Murphy’s 1,094,515 with 83 percent of precincts reporting.
Critics inside the Democratic Party noted that Murphy’s law to ‘legalize marijuana’ provides 20 year prison sentences for possession of marijuana and his so-called $15 minimum wage law allows employers to pay the poorest workers just $4.13 per hour.
Meanwhile, Republicans hit Murphy for his Covid-19 policies, restrictions on law enforcement and the scandalous hiring of an alleged rapist who worked on his 2017 campaign.
Ciattarelli also focused on education, stirring outrage over school closures necessitated by coronavirus and how race and gender are taught.
The Republican used Murphy’s own words against him to draw attention to New Jersey’s highest in the nation property taxes.
Polls over the course of months have reported that Murphy had a comfortable lead — as much as 11 points according to a Monmouth University poll released last week — over Ciattarelli.
The final Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released on Monday claimed that 50 percent of registered voters were voting to re-elect the governor, versus 42 percent who side with the Republican.
The content of Murphy’s advertising told voters what many said they wanted to hear, but the messaging conflicted with much of what the Goldman Sachs veteran has done.
The state races have national implications.
Republican Glenn Youngkin’s stunning victory in Virginia, snatched the governor’s mansion away from Democrats in a state that President Joe Biden won by ten points just a year ago.
Youngkin, a first-time candidate for office, defeated former Governor Terry McAuliffe, a close ally of the Clinton family.
Republican victories are widely considered a rejection of the Biden administration.
After the chaotic retreat from Afghanistan, Biden failed to rally unified partisan supporters in Congress to enact legislation that they campaigned on only a year ago.
Murphy prevailed in seven counties but Ciattarelli walloped him in 14 others, including Bergen County, which is the largest in terms of population.
Green Party nominee Madelyn Hoffman, Libertarian candidate Gregg Mele, and Socialist Workers Party contender Joanne Kuniansky received negligible vote totals.
Murphy said he would wait for ballot tabulation to be completed before commenting further on the race and sounding a conciliatory tone.
“We’re going to wait for every vote to be counted, and that’s how our democracy works,” he told a crowd at his campaign’s watch party.
Ciattarelli, meanwhile, touted his strong showing, saying he couldn’t formally declare victory but hinting strongly he felt he’d emerge victorious.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. It doesn’t happen without you,” said Ciattarelli. “Although it was not my intention, we have sent a message to the entire country. Sometime real soon, we’re going to do this again…Guys, hang in with me.”
It was expected that mail-in ballots, which typically favor Democrats, would be slow to be counted.
Down ballot races are also too close to call in some cases.
Three Republicans in the 11th legislative district – Lori Annetta, Kim Eulner, and Marilyn Piperno – lead the Democratic incumbents in what may be an upset victory.
State Sen. Vin Gopal, Assemblywoman Joann Downey and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling are not down for the count but they face grim prospects.
Democratic Assemblyman Zwicker might have narrowly missed his chance to flip a GOP state Senate seat to former Republican Congressman Mike Pappas.
Most of all, Democrats failed to make a distinct statement about what they stand for and the vision they offer for the future.
Republicans in contrast have never stopped campaigning, creating passionate arguments and wild controversy even where there is none.
Resistance to vaccine mandates in schools, a backlash against how American history is taught and an increasingly politicized atmosphere around school boards all played a part in fueling Republican enthusiasm.