Here’s where Campaign 2021 stands right now

With Passaic County finally finishing most of their vote tallies on Tuesday – two weeks after Election Day – here’s where everything stands in the November 2 New Jersey general election:

Governor: Phil Murphy defeated Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli by about three percentage points, 51%-48%, to become the first Democratic governor to win re-election to a second term since 1977.  Murphy’s margin, at least right now, is 81,859.

As far as re-election margins go, Murphy won by more than triple Gov. Christie Whitman’s 1997 plurality but was far behind win numbers posted by the other five governors who have won second terms.  Ciattarelli flipped three counties that Murphy carried four years ago: Atlantic, Cumberland, and Gloucester.  Ciattarelli has already announced that he’ll run again in 2025, when Murphy is term-limited.

Senate: Republicans picked up one State Senate seat, bringing them to 16-24 next year.   Their biggest trophy came in the 3rd district, where truck driver Edward Durr ousted Senate President Steve Sweeney, the longest-serving legislative leader in state history by 2,213 votes.

The GOP flipped the 8th district, where Republican Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield unseated Democratic incumbent Dawn Addiego by 1,222 votes.  Addiego been a longtime GOP legislator before switching parties in 2019.

But Democrats gained a Senate seat in the 16th district, and while State Sen.-elect Andrew Zwicker is from Middlesex County, this was the first time a Democrat won the Somerset-based Senate seat since 1902.  Zwicker, a three-term assemblyman, defeated former Rep. Michael Pappas by 4,979 votes.  Republican Christopher Bateman is retiring after four terms in the Senate and 28 years in the legislature.

Assembly: The GOP had a net gain of six seats.  The 46-34 State Assembly has the largest Republican minority since 2003.  Republicans flipped seats in the 2nd, 3rd and 11th districts.

Five incumbents were defeated: John Armato (D-Buena), John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro), John Taliaferro (D-Woolwich), Joanne Downey (D-Freehold), and Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune).

Freshman Republicans joining the legislature next year: former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, former deputy state attorney general Claire Swift, Mannington school board member Bethanne McCarthy-Patrick, former Woolwich Zoning Board member Beth Sawyer, Shrewsbury Borough Councilwoman Kim Eulner, and political newcomer Marilyn Piperno.

Counties: Republicans made huge gains in county races, particularly in South Jersey.  Gloucester County elected two GOP county commissioners and a sheriff, and Cumberland added two Republican county commissioners.   Atlantic County Republicans flipped a county commissioner seat in a court-ordered do-over of a 2020 race and picked up the county clerk post.  In Passaic County, Republicans wound up winning one county commissioner seat – their first since 2009 – after late counts have incumbent John Bartlett a win.  Bartlett had been trailing by 11 votes out of more than 100,000 counted.

In  Somerset County, Republicans came within 842 votes of breaking up the all-Democratic Board of Commissioners.

Local: Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop scored a big win in his bid for a third term, and seven of his nine city council candidates also scored victories.  One seat is headed to a runoff on December 7: three-term Councilman Richard Boggiano faces Kevin Bing.

Republicans ousted Democratic Mayor Michael Soriano in Parsippany, with Jamie Barbiero returning to his old job after winning a rematch.