Democrats Won Big In NJ, Thanks To Trump And Christie: Analysts

New Jersey never seems to capture the national mood in its local and statewide elections. But Election Day was full of surprises, and political analysts conceded that something more than Gov. Chris Christie's unpopularity drove voters to the polls on Tuesday.

It just had to be President Donald Trump, they say.

The anti-Trump fever that led to a near-sweep in Virginia for Democrats seemed to find its way to New Jersey on Tuesday as members of the party won races that they were never expected to win. They also finished close in races they were never expected to be competitive, political analysts say.

"We saw some Democratic victories that we didn't quite expect," said Monmouth University poll director Patrick Murray. "There was more enthusiasm on the Democratic side. We didn't expect that it would be like that."

The gubernatorial race surprised few people as Democrat Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive, easily defeated Christie's lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno. 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.

Read more: NJ Governor Election: Democrat Phil Murphy Wins

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

Indeed, Republican Jennifer Beck had her bid for a third full term in the state Senate rejected on Tuesday, as 11th District voters chose Democratic challenger Vin Gopal by more than 3,500 votes. Advertisements tied her to Christie, and then derided Beck for doing an about-face on a bill she sponsored and initially voted for that would have alerted police if a person with a documented mental illness sought judicial approval for a gun permit.

Read more: NJ Election Results 2017: Gopal Ousts Beck In 11th District

Rider University political scientist Ben Dworkin said New Jersey shouldn't be compared too much to Virginia because many of the state's northern voters reside in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Issues there, he said, tend to be national in scope.

"In New Jersey, Christie is the dominant factor, by far," he said.

But Dworkin and Murray believe that Trump could be the main reason why Democrats ran better than expected in races like these:

• Democrats George Youngkin, Joanne Schwartz and Mary Ann Merlino had in a surprisingly close race with Republicans Dawn Marie Addiego, Joe Howarth and Ryan Peters in the 8th legislative district that was supposedly to be an easy GOP victory. Addiego, the incumbent in the Burlington County district, won re-election by a 51-47 percent margin.
• Also in Burlington County, two seats on the Board of Chosen Freeholders flipped from Republican to Democrat, and Democratic Assemblyman Troy Singleton won a State Senate seat that belonged to retiring Republican Diane Allen since 1998. Carol Murphy captured the Assembly seat held by Singleton, and Democrat Herb Conaway was re-elected to his seat. Read more here...
• Democrats typically win in Gloucester Township, but this time, it was a sweep. Mayor David Mayer defeated challenger Frank Radisch with about 60 percent of the vote in Tuesday night's election, according to unofficial results posted on Camden County's website. Incumbent council members Michelle Winters and Dan Hutchison were re-elected to their seats, and they'll be joined on council by their running mate Scott Owens. Winters won with about 20 percent of the vote, followed by Hutchison and Owens with about 19 percent of the vote apiece. Read more here...
• State Sen. President Stephen Sweeney won re-election to the seat he's held for 16 years despite efforts from the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) to oust the incumbent Democrat. Sweeney was re-elected to his seat in the Third Legislative District over Republican challenger Fran Grenier, according to unofficial results from Tuesday night's election. Read more here...
• Democrats won big in the expensive suburban Union County suburbs of Westfield, Summit and Cranford, sweeping local races in Westfield and Summit.
• The Toms River Township Council will no longer be solely in Republican hands, at least for the next four years, as the Democrats have picked up three seats on Tuesday, two of them by very slim margins. Read more here...

Some saw issues pushed by Trump — and even the president's behavior — as having a possible affect on voters, and perhaps compelled them to push the lever for a Democrat over a Republican in races on the state and local levels.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told MSNBC that Trump was "undeniably on the ballot...because he is trying to divide America."

"People are sick of these Twitter tirades. They want leaders that they can be proud of and that’s why people like Phil Murphy and Ralph Northam were able to win because they’re sane,” he said.

Casey Olesko, communications director for Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey, said that, on the issue of reproductive health access, "we knew going in to this election that 78 percent of voters support state funding for family planning services."

"So after seeing the effects of an administration that cut funding for preventive reproductive health services here in New Jersey, combined with the continuous efforts by Congress and the Trump administration to restrict access to health care over the past year, New Jerseyans wanted a governor who would defend their access to affordable, quality care," she said.

Watch Now: Democrats Won Big In NJ, Thanks To Trump And Christie

Carly Baldwin contributed to this article

Patch file photo