Democrat Phil Murphy will hang on to New Jersey governor seat, Associated Press projects

The New Jersey governor race swung in Democrat Phil Murphy's direction on Wednesday evening, with The Associated Press projecting he will hang on to his seat.

The incumbent had a nail-biter of a night, as the race was considered too close to call for hours, even though he was expected to more easily defeat Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. Both Murphy and Ciattarelli gave speeches on Tuesday night indicating their confidence that they would win, with Murphy noting the final results were taking "a little while longer than we had hoped."

After AP called the race, the Ciattarelli campaign cried foul, saying it is "irresponsible" for a projection to be made at this point.

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