US President Joe Biden (78) should be very pleased: The Democratic governor of New Jersey has been re-elected by a narrow margin. After the counting of around 90 percent of the votes, Phil Murphy (64) was in the head-to-head race against his Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli (59) with only 50.1 percent lead, according to the US media on Wednesday (local time ) reported. It is a lead of just 20,000 votes.
Murphy was actually the clear favorite in polls. “The polls gave Phil Murphy an eight to twelve point lead, so this is a surprise,” said Rutgers University political science professor Saladin Ambar. In the 2017 election, Murphy had 56 percent of the vote.
Biden to blame for near-defeat?
The expert blamed the disappointment of many voters about Biden, who was elected president a year ago, for the narrow result. The 78-year-old’s reform agenda has been stuck for months – not only because of opposition from the opposition Republicans, but also because of internal party disputes.
The left and right wing of the Democrats are bitterly arguing over two billion dollar investment packages: an infrastructure package worth 1.2 trillion dollars (around one trillion euros) and a social and climate protection package with a volume of recently 1.75 trillion dollars, which goes by the name Build Back Better is known.
Virginia goes to the Republicans
In the gubernatorial election in Virginia, the Democrats suffered a heavy defeat on Tuesday: Their long-time favorite candidate Terry McAuliffe (64) was barely defeated by Republican Glenn Youngkin (54) in the state, which has been democratically ruled for years. (AFP / euc)