(NewsNation) — The race for New Jersey’s next governor has become one of the most contested as Election Day has arrived.
The polls show Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are locked in a close battle.
The race has been particularly important, after both President Trump and former President Barack Obama made 11th-hour appeals to supporters to bolster their party’s candidate. Both candidates were evenly matched in campaign funding, making the contest a key test of voter sentiment less than a year into Donald Trump’s second term.
So far, Sherrill is slightly ahead with women voters. Her campaign was mostly driven by her time in the Navy as a helicopter pilot.
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“Mikie is a mother of four, and she served our nation,” said voter Jane Goril.
For Ciattarelli, he has been promoting the down-home image to get votes. One of the issues he is fighting for: electricity costs.
“My electric bills are out of control,” Christine Mungo, a Ciattarelli supporter, added. “A lot of the green initiatives that they started are not working.”
Diane Ackerman backed Mungo’s remarks, saying, “My electricity bills are over $900 a month. They’ve never been even half that in the summer. It’s just crazy.”
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While New Jersey is true blue in presidential elections, the governor’s office has regularly flipped between parties. Current governor Phil Murphy is the first two-term Democrat in 44 years.
Meanwhile, Ciatarelli is running for governor for the third time.
“Jack Ciattarelli is a Jersey guy with Jersey values,” acknowledged Kathie Durante. “He understands the state and knows what’s at stake right now. “
Also on the ballot for New Jersey voters will be the Assembly races. There are a total of 40 Assembly districts in the state, with two seats per district.
