NJ Governor Race: Murphy Wins Second Term

UPDATE: The Associated Press has called the NJ governor's race for Phil Murphy. Go here for the latest developments.

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey's gubernatorial race has been a heated one, and Tuesday night's polls showed just how close of a race it has been, with the candidates taking turns swapping their lead each hour as votes continue to be counted Wednesday.

Gov. Phil Murphy is defending his seat against Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. The pair have gone head-to-head in two debates, both of which asked questions about the state's COVID-19 response, storm and climate change planning as well as the hot topic on everyone's mind, taxes.

During the first debate, both candidates vowed not to raise taxes if they took office.

See related:4 Takeaways From The First Murphy, Ciattarelli Debate 4 Takeaways From The 2nd Gubernatorial Debate

The debates' heated and quick-witted nature foreshadowed a tough race to call. Election night results showed Ciattarelli outperforming almost every public opinion poll released throughout campaign season, showing a much closer race than many pollsters and Democrats predicted.

Murphy grabbed a tight lead with just over 16,000 votes ahead of Ciattarelli in the NJ Governor race, as of 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday in the NJ Governor race.

Read more here: Murphy Holds Double-Digit Lead Over Ciattarelli: Latest Poll

The latest results in the gubernatorial race, as of 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday, 97.7 percent of results in:

Murphy: 49.97%, 1,203,602 votes

Ciattarelli: 49.28%, 1,186,985 votes

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Ciattarelli's campaign remained cautiously optimistic, reiterating that they would wait for all votes to be counted:

"Last night was a historic one for New Jersey Republicans, who picked up at least a half dozen Assembly seats, several Senate seats, along with county and local seats up and down the state," said Stami Williams, Ciattarelli campaign spokeswoman. "Jack is proud to lead our ticket and our party's resurgence. Right now, our team is focused on making sure all the legal votes are counted and our citizens can have confidence in the system."

During the respective election night parties, the candidates addressed the crowds and families about the nail-biting results flowing in. Murphy told his camp,

"We’re all sorry that tonight could not yet be the celebration that we wanted it to be — But as I said: When every vote is counted — and every vote will be counted — we hope to have a celebration again."

Ciattarelli sent a similar message with a calmer, happier tone, saying

"This is what I love about this state, if you study its history: Every single time it’s gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled and prodded it right back to where it needs to be."

Ciattarelli has centered his campaign on lowering property taxes and supporting "main street" businesses along with "protecting rights and freedoms" of New Jersey residents, including the choice to be vaccinated.

Murphy has focused his campaign on his progressive track record in office and compared Ciattarelli to former Gov. Chris Christie as well as lumping Ciattarelli in with the Donald Trump camp.