NJ Governor Election: Democrat Phil Murphy Wins

Democrat Phil Murphy, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in the 2017 gubernatorial race on Tuesday.

CNN and NBC made the projections at 8:01 p.m. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Murphy, 60, had 55.5 percent of the vote (1,124,168 votes) to 42.4 percent for the 58-year-old Guadagno (858,624 votes).

Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, Murphy's running mate, will serve as lieutenant governor. Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo served as Guadagno's lieutenant governor running mate.

In his victory speech, Murphy reminded voters of his chief campaign slogan: "I got your back." He also noted that the New Jersey election was among the first major contests since President Donald Trump's election last year.

Murphy ripped Trump's tax reform plan, saying it will hurt New Jersey, and he said his election sends a message to the country: "We are better than this."

"Tonight, we declare the days of division over," he said. "To believe in each of us is to believe in all of us."

Murphy said that, in the next 70 days, "we will put together an administration that is much like our state, and reflect our diversity and intelligence.

"We will grow this economy again," he said, promising to invest in infrastructure and women's health, and devise "sensible" gun safety laws. "We will rebuild our state from the bottom up, and from them middle out. And we will ask the people at the top to give their fair share."

In her concession speech, Guadagno said her campaign "left no stone unturned" and congratulated Murphy. "Never forget what we were fighting for here," she said. "We fought for lower taxes ... Let us continue the fight."

Murphy also thanked voters on social media.

Murphy won a contentious race that focused on property taxes and sanctuary cities, but couldn't escape the shadow of Gov. Chris Christie and his low popularity.

Murphy said a Guadagno administration would essentially be a third term of the Christie administration, and he has linked the lieutenant governor to the infamous "Bridgegate" scandal that led to the convictions of three Christie aides. Guadagno has distanced herself from Christie, even as the incumbent governor has said he plans to vote for her.

Early exit polls showed that Christie may have had an impact on the election. In an NBC poll, more than 50 percent said Christie's connection to Guadagno impacted their vote.

Christie himself made some news on Election Day, getting into an argument after voting in Mendham.

Low turnout was expected as controversy surrounding President Donald Trump also appeared to overshadow the New Jersey race. Murphy also had a substantial lead in the polls.

"People are just not engaged in this election," said Monmouth University poll director Patrick Murray. From Murray's perspective, Trump is using up "all of the available space" in people's minds when they look, read or hear about politics.

Both Murphy and Guadagno, however, did try to break through that Trump-media ceiling, focusing on issues that have inspired a lot of passion on the nation, state and local level. Both have looked at issues affecting the pocketbook and politics.

Related: In Referendum On Trump, Virginia Voters Have Their Say

Guadagno promoted a plan that she says will cut property taxes for the middle class - a plan that Murphy says could cost the state more than $1 million. She wants to cap school property taxes and offer a tax credit of up to $3,000. Murphy says he would increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations. He also wants to legalize marijuana and tax it to help pay for education and other programs.

Guadagno also has said she would seek to withhold state funding for New Jersey cities that have "sanctuary city" policies. She offered a "proposed sanctuary city ban" that would require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials and run background checks in the state's prisons and jails. Murphy has said he's open to making New Jersey a "sanctuary state" to protect undocumented immigrants.

Here are the New Jersey election results by county and legislative district:

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