Julio Cortez/AP
- New Jersey voters elected Democrat Phil Murphy on Tuesday to replace the state’s deeply unpopular outgoing Republican governor, Chris Christie.
- Murphy, a former bank executive and ambassador to Germany, beat Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who Murphy tied to Christie’s failings.
New Jersey voters elected Democrat Phil Murphy to be the blue state’s next governor on Tuesday, replacing Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who is now the least popular governor in New Jersey history.
Democrat Phil Murphy, a former Wall Street banker and ambassador to Germany under former President Barack Obama, was long expected to beat his Republican opponent, the New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Murphy, who has never before held elected office, outraised Guadagno, who attempted to distance herself from Christie, whose approval rating is consistently in the teens.
The race turned bitter in the final days of the campaign, with the candidates hardening their dramatically different positions on policy issues ranging from the minimum wage to gun control.
Guadagno heavily focused on her support for decreasing property taxes, which are higher in the state than anywhere else in the country. Murphy is opposed to decreasing the taxes, but supports fully funding public schools, which, he argues, would decrease property taxes. He also wants to close corporate tax loopholes.
Murphy focused much of his campaign on tying Guadagno to the failures of the Christie administration, which he blames for a “broken economy” as a result of the governor and his deputy’s “failed leadership.”
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