UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2021 – 6:40 p.m. EST

Almost 24 hours after the polls closed in New Jersey, Phil Murphy gets reelected as governor of the state, according to The New York Times. He narrowly defeated his Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli in what was a very close contest. 

Murphy becomes the first Democrat in 44 years to be reelected as governor despite criticism over his coronavirus emergency orders and President Joe Biden’s unpopularity, according to The New York Times.  

This result is comforting for the Democratic Party after Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe to be Virginia’s next governor. 

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UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2021 – 11:30 am

Governor Murphy is ahead of Ciattarelli by more than 7,000 votes, according to data released by CNN. 

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UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2021 – 8:30 am

As ballots continue to be counted, Murphy is back in the lead, according to CNN. He is now ahead of Ciatarelli by more than 1,500 votes.

This is a developing story that will be updated. 

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UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2021 – 7:00 am 

The race for New Jersey Governor remains too close to call, with only 65 votes separating the two candidates, CNN reported.

Despite polling data indicating Murphy would emerge successfully, Ciatarelli leads. 

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With just two gubernatorial races taking place in 2021, the election for the next New Jersey governor will have national implications.  

Along with Virginia’s, the state’s race represents the halfway point between President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump and the 2022 midterm elections.  

The candidates include current NJ Governor Philip Murphy, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, Green Party candidate Madelyn Hoffman, Libertarian Gregg Mele and Socialist Joanne Kuniansky. Although there are five candidates, the race has been primarily centered around Murphy and Ciattarelli.  

Prior to becoming the state’s governor in 2018, Murphy spent decades at Goldman Sachs before retiring as its senior director. He serves as a board member for the NAACP and was the finance chair for the Democratic National Committee from 2006 to 2009. He was also the ambassador to Germany for four years under President Barack Obama, NJ Spotlight reported.  

During Murphy’s first term, he raised the state’s minimum wage, got legislation passed to legalize marijuana, invested money to improve NJ Transit and set goals for clean energy usage.  

RELATED: New Jersey Law Seeks to Stem Pollution in Minority Areas 

Ciattarelli is an attorney who is no stranger to politics. This is his second gubernatorial bid and he served six years representing the 16th District in the state Assembly. On the campaign trail, he discussed issues he would address if elected, including lowering property taxes, implementing corporate and income tax cuts, ending cities’ sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants, ending police reporting of use of force and prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks.  

Murphy and Ciattarelli are candidates with opposing views on many issues, including COVID-19. While Murphy has led the state through the pandemic by implementing mask and vaccine mandates and working to vaccinate most of the state, Ciattarelli is against rules for masks and vaccines, NJ Spotlight reported.  

According to polling data released by Stockton University, Murphy has a 9-point lead in the race with just 3% of voters undecided. Ciattarelli is popular among voters who are white and men. In sharp contrast, Murphy is more popular among those who have four-year degrees, Hispanic voters and women. Murphy also has overwhelming support by Black voters.  

With 60% of voters revealing they did not watch the debates, the turn out on Election Day will be key to the success of either candidate.  

BNC and BNC GO will have continuous live coverage of several key races on Election Day. Stay with us online and on social media for in-depth political coverage.   

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