On November 3, the Associated Press said that Democrat Phil Murphy had been reelected as the Governor of New Jersey. For months Phil Murphy was said to have a comfortable lead over his Republican rival Ciattarelli, However, that lead kept narrowing on election day.

Murphy had been projected to win comfortably earlier on according to polls but the Republican caught up and there was a short period of time when he was ahead of the incumbent governor creating some tension. According to a call from the AP, Governor Phil Murphy was declared as the winner with a poll percent of 50.4 while Ciattarelli polled 48.8 percent.

Although Murphy won by a razor thin margin, on Wednesday night, he became the first Democratic governor who was reelected in the state of New Jersey in more than four decades. In 1977, Democrat Brenden Byrne was the last Democratic governor to win a second term.

Murphy, who is considered to be the most progressive governor in the nation by some, rose to the ranks at Goldman Sachs after being educated at Harvard University as well as the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania. He became wealthy at a young age and retired early. He began public service when he was awarded an ambassadorship of Germany as he helped Barack Obama in his 2004 presidential campaign.

Cattarelli is a former member of the state Assembly and was considered to be a moderate during his term in Trenton. He lost the Republican primary for governor in 2017. Although he had been considered as a moderate, he attended a “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot.

Murphy attacked Cattarelli on his connections with the far right, Donald Trump and other issues. Cattarelli attacked Murphy on his stance on taxes and the pandemic though governor Murphy had reportedly done a good job in handling the coronavirus pandemic. Ultimately Phil Murphy prevailed over Cattarelli and is ready to lead the Garden State in his second term as governor.