Polls indicate New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will win reelection next week even as his Republican rival has narrowed the lead in the final weeks of the race.
Murphy, a Democrat, is running against Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator and businessman.
Murphy has consistently polled ahead of Ciattarelli in the race, but the Republican nominee has slightly narrowed that lead as the race draws to a close.
AS DEMOCRATS TRY TO GET A DEAL, MCCARTHY LIKENS BIDEN TO CHARLIE BROWN AND THE FOOTBALL
A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found Murphy leading Ciattarelli by 51% to 40% among likely voters. Ciattarelli made some gains since August when the same poll found him trailing Murphy by 17 percentage points.
There is no clear path for Ciattarelli to close that margin in the days remaining before the Nov. 2 election, but his rise in the polls has concerned some Democrats. Murphy, who has said he is “running like I’m 10 points behind,” has brought in some of the nation’s most prominent Democrats for support. Former President Barack Obama joined him at a recent rally, and President Joe Biden traveled to the Garden State to campaign amid negotiation over his social spending package in Congress.
Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, told the Washington Examiner that over the last five years, Democratic candidates have won by about 14 points in New Jersey.
“What we’re seeing with where the race is now is that the Democrat is slightly underperforming in part, in large part I think, because of what we’re seeing nationally,” Murray said.
Murray drew a comparison to Virginia, where Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin will face off next week, saying the Democratic ticket is “underperforming what the fundamentals suggest would happen there.”
“It’s happening in both states, so that suggests it’s something national driving that,” he said.
Murray said gridlock in Washington may have tampered voter enthusiasm.
“That has lowered Democratic enthusiasm nationwide, as there’s governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. That’s where we’re seeing it play out,” Murray said.
The poll found that voters’ priorities have shifted in previous months: In August, most voters listed the pandemic and taxes as their biggest concerns, but now, no single issue leads. Tax-related issues were the top priority for about 27% of voters, followed by jobs and the economy (20%), schools and education (16%), the pandemic (15%), crime (7%), abortion (5%), and transportation infrastructure (4%).
Ciattarelli frequently discussed how New Jersey residents pay the highest property tax bills in the country, giving him an edge with voters that ranked taxes as their top concern. But voters ranked Murphy as their first choice on other issues.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Murphy, for his part, is approaching the election as a tight race. An Oct. 21 fundraising email for his campaign called it a “single-digit race,” adding, “We can’t afford for it to get any closer.”
“To make matters worse, we’re being outraised AND outspent,” it said.
