New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's re-election was a historical rarity, but the narrow margin was not


New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) appears to have won re-election to a second term on Tuesday, though the race was so close The Associated Press and other new organizations did not call it until about 24 hours after the polls closed. Murphy was trailing Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli until Wednesday morning, when returns from historically Democratic parts of New Jersey finally came in.
It isn't clear how large Murphy's eventual margin of victory will be — he leads by 1.2 percentage points with 98 percent of precincts reporting and 90 percent of the estimated vote counted, AP reports — but the unexpectedly narrow results rattled Democrats already reeling from Democrat Terry McAuliffe's loss in Virginia.
At the same time, history was working against the Democrats in both races — Virginia almost always elects a governor from the opposite party of the president, and before Murphy, no Democrat had won a second term in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne In 1977. Murphy is "also the first Democrat since Byrne to win during the first term of a [Democratic] president," The Nation's John Nichols notes. And while Murphy's breaking of a 44-year Democratic re-election curse is pretty unusual, his narrow margin of victory is not, as "political junkie" and "amateur historian" Russell Drew pointed out on Twitter.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Also, not every Democrat eked out a win on Tuesday. "In perhaps the most shocking result of Election Day in New Jersey, longtime state Senate President Steve Sweeney is trailing by more than 2,000 votes to a commercial truck driver named Edward Durr" who "spent just $153 on his campaign," NBC 10 Philadelphia reports. "Sweeney has not yet conceded, but his loss throws leadership in the New Jersey Legislature into uncertainty."
Ciattarelli also has not conceded the governors race, but Murphy gave a victory speech in Asbury Park on Wednesday night. "Tonight, I renew my promise to you — whether you voted for me or not — to work every single day of the next four years to keep moving us forward," he said.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
China and Taiwan's war of words ahead of anniversary parade
Under The Radar Neighbours both claim to have led the fighting during World War Two
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardon
Feature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in Chicago
Feature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates