TRENTON (N.J.) — The outcome of New Jersey’s election to governor will be legal and fair, Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli stated Thursday, his first comments since The Associated Press declared Phil Murphy, the incumbent Democrat, the winner.
Ciattarelli has not given up on the election.
Ciattarelli stated in the 2 minute video clip, posted on Twitter: “No one should declare victory or concede the election until all legal votes are counted.”
Ciattarelli is a former Assembly member. He said that he will wait until the 21 counties in the state have completed counting thousands of ballots. This could take up to next week before deciding whether or not to request a recount.
State law does not allow for an automatic recount. The party seeking one must file suit in the state Superior Court of the county in which the recount is requested.
There are still a lot of ballots to count, including votes from a large number of voters in predominantly Democratic Essex County and mail-in votes from other counties. Murphy won the mail-in vote even in Republican-leaning areas like Monmouth.
On Thursday, Murphy held a lead of approximately 44,000 votes.
Ciattarelli also responded to comments made online, raising concerns about the integrity and legitimacy of the election.
He stated, “I don’t want people falling prey to wild conspiracy theories or internet rumors.” “While we give consideration to all credible reports, please do not believe everything that you read or see online.
He added, “I promise that, regardless of the outcome, the election results will be legal, fair, and equitable.”
Many were surprised by the narrow margin and it went against public polling that indicated Murphy had a larger lead. One of the pollsters apologized for not achieving the margin in the race and published an opinion-ed on Thursday. Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth University Polling Institute, said that “I blew it”.
Murphy was the first Democrat in 44 years to win reelection. He spoke Wednesday night and said he would continue to pursue the progressive policies that he had advocated during his first term.
Ciattarelli was known as a moderate legislator. He campaigned against high taxes in the state and claimed that Murphy had swung it too far to Murphy’s favor. Ciattarelli also praised the policies of Donald Trump and said he supported him in 2020.
