New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy notches narrow reelection victory in state's gubernatorial contest

New Jersey's incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly defeated Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the Garden State's gubernatorial contest.

The Associated Press finally called the race on Wednesday evening, well after after polls had closed in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

The race proved to be extremely tight, with the two candidates separated by less than 1% as of Wednesday night.

The result marks a stark shift compared to the 2017 election contest when Murphy enjoyed a double-digit margin of victory.

Murphy's win makes him the first Democratic governor to secure reelection in New Jersey since 1977, according to Politico.

In Virginia, GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe who had been aiming to return to the governorship after previously serving in the post from early 2014 to early 2018.

The Republican's victory in Virginia and Democrat's narrow victory in New Jersey came after Joe Biden comfortably won in both of those states during the 2020 presidential election contest.

McAuliffe has offered congratulations to his opponent: "Congratulations to Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin on his victory. I hope Virginians will join me in wishing the best to him and his family," he said in a statement.

Ciattarelli has not yet conceded in the New Jersey contest.

"With the candidates separated by a fraction of a percent out of 2.4 million ballots cast, it's irresponsible of the media to make this call when the New Jersey Secretary of State doesn't even know how many ballots are left to be counted," Ciattarelli communications director Stami Williams tweeted.

The New Jersey GOP tweeted this sentiment as well and said, "We will fight for every single legal vote."