Gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey top Tuesday's 2017 elections

Voters in Virginia go to the polls Tuesday

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 7 November 2017

Voters in Virginia and New Jersey are picking new governors on Tuesday, the headline races in an off-year election that also features a contest to fill Rep. Jason Chaffetz's (R) seat in Utah's 3rd congressional district, New York's mayor's office, and a state race that will determine party control of Washington State's Senate. In New Jersey, Democrat Phil Murphy holds a double-digit lead over Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R), but the race in Virginia between Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie is close and hard-fought. Virginia is also electing a lieutenant governor and attorney general.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is expected to win re-election, and Provo Mayor John Curtis (R) is ahead in the Utah congressional race against Democrat Kathie Allen. In Washington, a race between Democrat Manka Dhingra and Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund will determine whether Democrats take control of the state Senate. Democrats already control the state House and the governor's office, and if Dhingra wins, Washington will be the seventh state where Democrats control all three bodies; Republicans have this legislative "trifecta" in 26 states, CNN notes.

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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.