TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy will be challenged by former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, according to early results of the primary election.
A primary is held to determine which candidate will represent a party in the general election in November.
Murphy, the incumbent Democrat, has been governor since 2018. Since he was running unopposed, his votes weren’t tallied publicly on election night.
Republican Jack Ciattarelli represented the 16th Legislative District as an Assemblyman from 2011 to 2018.
This is not his first primary election for governor. He ran in 2017, losing to Kim Guadagno.
This time, he appeared to beat Philip Rizzo, Hirsh Singh, and Brian Levine, who were also hoping to represent the Republican party.
As of 9:30 p.m. on election night, about 54% of the expected votes had been counted. Of these, Ciattarelli had one half of the total Republican votes. Rizzo and Singh both had about a quarter. Levine had about 3 percent.
In Ocean County, a red stronghold in a blue state, Ciattarelli had been making the rounds, garnering support.
Ciattarelli received about half of Ocean County’s Republican votes as well, compared to a quarter each for Rizzo and Singh, and much less for Levine.
These are the unofficial vote totals, since the election results have to be certified, a process which can take at least several days.
