According to NJ Advance Media, Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat who has pushed New Jersey in a more progressive direction and overseen the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, won a second term as the Garden State’s governor Wednesday night.
The Associated Press says Murphy narrowly defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a bitter and closer-than-expected race that was too close to call for nearly 24 hours.
The race was called by The Associated Press early Wednesday evening.
But the Ciattarelli campaign criticized the call by the AP.
“With the candidates separated by a fraction of a percent out of 2.4 million ballots cast, it’s irresponsible of the media to make this call when the New Jersey Secretary of State doesn’t even know how many ballots are left to be counted,” Ciattarelli spokeswoman Stami Williams said in a statement.
It’s possible the race could still be contested. Mail-in and provisional ballots may be counted through Monday, and Ciattarelli could petition the state courts for a recount.
