Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno won the New Jersey gubernatorial Republican primary with 47.8 percent of the vote, and Democratic businessman Philip Murphy won the Democratic primary with 47.4 percent of the vote in the Tuesday primaries to replace Republican Governor Chris Christie.
Guadagno led the Republicans, easily defeating runner-up Jack Ciattarelli, who only earned 29.2 percent of the vote. Democratic candidate John Wisniewski came in second with 23 percent of the vote, with 38 percent of the polls reporting as of 9:00 PM, according to Decision Desk HQ
Murphy lead Republican front-runner Kim Guadagno in early polling, earning 50 percent in a Quinnipiac University head-to-head poll published in the first week of May. The current Lieutenant Governor led the pack of Republicans in the poll but trailed Murphy by a wide 50-25 percent deficit. If the general election results keep to those numbers, it would be the largest Democratic win in the state since 1973.
Saturday Night Live Actor Alec Baldwin headlined a New Jersey fundraiser to benefit all Democrats on the ticket with the New Jersey Education Association Super PAC. The event raised $5.1 million, a record for state political fundraisers according to CNBC.
The University of Virginia’s Crystal Ball rated the general election as “leans Democratic” due to the severe unpopularity of the outgoing governor. Christie currently has a stunningly low 18 percent approval rating.
Murphy and Guadagno now face off in the general election scheduled for November of 2017.
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