2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election



The 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2021, concurrently with the Virginia gubernatorial election and other state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy was re-elected with 54.56% of the vote and a 11.46% margin of victory over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli.

Background
Phil Murphy was first elected in 2017, flipping the New Jersey governorship from Republican to Democratic. The traditionally blue state had been governed by Republican Chris Christie since 2009, but his standing in the state was badly hurt by the Bridgegate scandal. Murphy capitalized on this as well as the anti-Republican sentiment during Donald Trump's presidency to win the gubernatorial election. In 2021, Democrat Joe Biden was president and the national sentiment was considerably more favorable to Republicans; however, New Jersey's strong Democratic lean and the lack of a broadly appealing Republican candidate in the state enabled Murphy to win re-election, albeit by a reduced margin.