[Epoch Times November 04, 2021](Reported by The Epoch Times reporter Ella Kietlinska/Compiled by Takasugi) According to the Associated Press, New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy announced Wednesday (November 3) He won re-election and defeated former Republican Congressman Jack Ciattarelli by a narrow margin.
According to the New Jersey Herald, unofficial results showed that Murphy won 50% of the votes by 19,294 votes, while Sittarelli won 49% of the votes and already 98% of the electoral districts. The result of the counting of votes was reported. Out of a total of 6,348 constituencies, there are 199 unreported results.
Voters across the state exceeded 2.3 million. Among New Jerseys who have voting rights, the turnout rate is about 34%.
According to the New Jersey Herald, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way (Tahesha Way) said at a press conference on Monday (November 1) that more than 200,000 New Jerseys voted in the early voting, and nearly 500,000 Voted by mail. These votes represent more than 10% of registered voters in the state.
Among the votes yet to be counted, a considerable part of the votes are from Essex County, where Democratic supporters are the majority, and some are mailed votes from other counties. Murphy won the postal vote by a large margin, even in Republican-leaning counties like Monmouth.
Sittarelli’s campaign spokesperson Stami Williams (Stami Williams) refuted the current governor’s victory statement, calling him “irresponsible” because the current vote count gap is still small.
Williams said in a statement: “Last night was a historic night for Republicans in New Jersey. They won at least six seats in the Congress, several seats in the Senate, and counties and counties across the state. The seat of the place.”
The spokeswoman added: “Jack is proud to lead our campaign and lead our party to a comeback. Now, our team is focused on ensuring that all legitimate votes are counted so that our citizens can embrace the system. Have confidence.”
In 1981, Republican Governor Tom Kean (Tom Kean) won the election in New Jersey by a small margin of 1,797 out of 3 million votes.
Murphy plans to speak later on Wednesday.
Sittarelli’s campaign spending is almost the same as that of the governor, surpassing the performance of Republicans four years ago, but Murphy’s advantage also includes: 1 million more registered Democratic voters.
Since Brendan Byrne in 1977, no Democrat has won the re-election of the governor of New Jersey.
The vote counting takes longer than expected because New Jersey introduced new technology this year, including a new voting machine. For example, according to the New Jersey Herald, in Paterson, election officials were unable to count votes because they accidentally locked the voting machine.
The New Jersey Herald reported that in Newark and some other cities in New Jersey, 56 electoral districts were unable to count votes due to “voting staff error.” A judge’s order is needed to restore their authority to use these machines.
competitor
Murphy has held leadership positions in Goldman Sachs’ Germany and Hong Kong offices for more than two decades, and served as ambassador to Germany during the Obama administration. He is also the Treasury Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
During his tenure as governor, he implemented a series of policies, such as providing tax fairness for middle-class families, a minimum wage of $15 an hour, more affordable public education, more childcare, green policies supported by the Democratic Party, and Legalization of marijuana. His campaign slogan has always been: “It’s about how we move forward.”
However, his policies and their impact have attracted criticism from his challengers and Republican lawmakers. He has also been criticized for his decision to increase taxes, force children to wear masks, admit patients to nursing homes regardless of their infection status, and for his slow response to Hurricane Ida.
During the campaign, Murphy won the support of US President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) and Vice President Kamala Harris (Kamala Harris) for his re-election.
Former US President Barack Obama also canvassed votes for the current governor at a campaign rally in Newark (Newark is the most populous city in the state) about a week and a half before the election.
Obama said to the audience at the rally: “Make sure you vote for Democrats, including leaders of state legislatures who have done a lot of important work.” “Give Phil Murphy another four years.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), as an open socialist member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was also at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. University) contributed to Murphy’s campaign rally. Sanders called Murphy one of the “most progressive” governors in America and asked the audience to vote for Murphy and let others vote for him.
Murphy won his first term in 2017 with 56% of the vote, defeating the then Republican governor, Kim Guadagno, who won 42% of the vote. The voter turnout rate at the time was 36%.
Republican challenger Jack Citarelli is a certified public accountant who ran a small business twice. He was previously a New Jersey state councilor and lived in New Jersey for life.
He announced his campaign under the slogan “Let’s Fix New Jersey”. He told New Jersey that as a governor, he would solve the state’s most pressing problems, such as the highest property tax in the country, state budget overruns, insufficient support for local and state police, and reform of public school curricula.
Sittarelli also promised to promote business growth and create more jobs in the state.
According to a report by the New Jersey State Electoral Law Executive Committee, as of October 29, he has raised more than $13 million in campaign funds and spent $12.4 million. Murphy raised more than $16 million for his campaign and spent nearly $12.6 million.
(The Associated Press also contributed to this article.)
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
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