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New
Jersey Governor
| NEW
JERSEY |
Nov. 2,
2021 Governor |
|
Plurality:
84,286 votes, 3.22 percentage points.
NJ Dep't of
State Division of ElectionsNotes: Gov. Phil Murphy (D),seeking a second term, defeated former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R) by a much closer margin than expected. Activist Madelyn Hoffman (G), attorney Gregg Mele (L) and Walmart worker Joanne Kuniansky (SWP) together tallied less than 1 percent of the vote. Murphy, who turned 64 in August, came to politics from a career in finance. He worked at Goldman Sachs for more than 20 years starting as an intern and rising to various executive positions. He served as finance chair of the DNC from 2006-09 and as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2009-13. Murphy was unchallenged in the June 8 Democratic primary. In a statement he said, "Over the last three-plus years, we’ve made tremendous progress to build a stronger, fairer, and more resilient state not just for today, but for generations to come... The choice in November is clear. We can either keep New Jersey moving forward or go backward." Four candidates competed in the June 8 Republican primary. Ciattarelli, who also sought the 2017 Republican gubernatorial nomination, finished first with 49.4%, followed by Philip Rizzo (25.9%), Singh Hirsh (21.5%) and Brian Levine (3.2%). Ciattarelli, 59, served in the Assembly from Dec. 2011-Jan. 2018; earlier he served on the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Raritan Borough Council. He is an entrepreneur who founded two publishing companies and is also a Certified Public Accountant. In a statement following his primary win, Ciattarelli said, "The fact is, after four years of Murphy's failed leadership, our state is struggling. New Jersey pays the highest property taxes in the nation. Small businesses have been decimated. 8,000 seniors and veterans died. New Jerseyans from Cape May to High Point have been forgotten and ignored. We need a governor who puts New Jersey first. A governor who will listen to and respect everyone, even those who may disagree." Murphy kept Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, a former speaker of the NJ Assembly, as his running mate. On Aug. 2 Ciattarelli announced former state Sen. Diane Allen of Edgewater Park as his choice for lieutenant governor. Murphy and Ciatterelli engaged in two debates (>, 2). Their first meeting, before a boisterous audience at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on Sept. 29, was marked by sharp exchanges on subjects including Murphy's handling of Hurricane Ida, the COVID-19 pandemic, taxes, abortion and gun control (1, 2). WABC-TV (ABC7 in New York) and WPVI-TV (ABC6 in Philadelphia) hosted the event. The second debate took place at Rowan University in Glassboro on Oct. 12 (>). The two lieutenant governor candidates debated on Oct. 5. Although excluded from the debates and receiving scant media coverage, third party candidates were active. The Libertarian Mele did several 21-county tours. Vote by mail ballots began mailing on Sept. 18. The in-person early voting period was Oct. 23-31. Democrats have a voter registration advantage of 2.6 million to 1.5 million and 2.4 million unaffiliated (>). Murphy appeared to be in a very strong position throughout the campaign, and the close result on Election Night was a big surprise. Associated Press did not call the election until the evening of Nov. 3 (>). Ciattarelli spokesperson Shami Williams responded, "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." In a Nov. 4 opinion piece, Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, apologized for polling information "that was at the very least misleading (>)." Ciattarelli conceded on Nov. 12. REACTIONS The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reported the total cost of the gubernatorial election was $90.7 million, $49.0 million by candidates and $41.7 million by independent groups. The Murphy campaign spent $16.4 million to $15.8 million by the Ciattarelli campaign which ELEC said was "mostly because the two major party candidates each qualified for $10.5 million in public funds available for the general election." Eighty-four percent of the $28.3 million in general election spending by outside groups supported Murphy, led by Our NJ (a creation of the Democratic Governors Association) at $8.7 million and Garden State Forward (NJEA) at $5.5 million. The top group on the Republican side was the Republican Governors Association at $3.8 million (>). Campaign Managers: Phil Murphy: Mollie Binotto (Jan. 2021) Western federal and gubernatorial director for EMILY's List, Mar. 2019-Jan. 2021. Senior advisor (Nov. 2018-Mar. 2019) and campaign manager (May 2017-Nov. 2018) to Mikie Sherrill for Congress. Coordinated campaign director for the Iowa Democratic Party, June-Dec. 2016. Campaign manager on Joseline Peña-Melnyk for Congress, Jan.-April 2016. Campaign manager on Gecker for Senate (VA), March-Nov. 2015. Statewide field director on Alaska Victory '14/Alaskans for Begich, Mar.-Nov. 2014. Campaign manager on Friends of Dawn Zimmer for Mayor of Hoboken, Aug.-Nov. 2013. Legislative correspondent (Feb.-Aug. 2013) and executive assistant to the chief of staff and legislative director (Mar. 2011-Feb. 2013) for U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (MT). Regional field director in Northern Nevada for the Nevada State Democratic Party/Friends for Harry Reid, June-Nov. 2010. GPA special assistant at R&R Partners, Jan. 2007-June 2010. Field organizer on Barack Obama's Campaign for Change in Butte, MT, July-Nov. 2008. Bachelor's degree in political science and government from Washington College, 2007. Jack Ciattarelli: Eric Arpert (May 2020) Public information director for Burlington County. RNC field staff director on a House race on Long Island, 2012. Worked for Rep. Jon Runyan (R-Moorestown), then-State Sen. Sean Kean (R-Wall) and the Republican Governors Association. Protégé of former Burlington County GOP Chairman Glenn Paulsen. J.D. from Emory University, 2020; undergraduate degree from The George Washington University. Glen Rock native. Source: David Wildstein. "Eric Arpert will manage Ciattarelli campaign." New Jersey Globe, Feb. 1, 2020. Madelyn Hoffman: Dustin Young and Veronica Fernández. - Dustin Young - started on the campaign briefly as an intern; a key member of Howie Hawkins’ presidential campaign in New Jersey, Student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick; a STEM instructor in Burlington County, NJ. - Veronica Fernández - a mother and small business owner from Long Valley, NJ. An independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020. Gregg Mele: Victor Kaplan |
 @PhilMurphyNJ |
 @Jack4NJ |
 @hofffman4nj |
@Mele4Nj |
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