The polls are open for key governor races in New Jersey and Virginia.
The tight Virginia gubernatorial race between businessman Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who is running for his second consecutive term, is a preview for the 2022 midterm elections and will indicate where the country’s politics stand a year after Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
Biden won the state by 10 points in 2020, but data from FiveThirtyEight shows that Youngkin has gained a steady growth in support in the past week.
In New Jersey, Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy holds a small lead over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, a business owner and former member of the New Jersey legislature.
Polls across Virginia will be open until 7 p.m. Tuesday night. New Jersey polls will be open until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Follow Newsweek’s liveblog for all the latest updates.
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Candidates share final message as polls open Tuesday
The governor candidates in New Jersey and Virginia share their final messages to voters as the polls open across their states.
New Jersey’s incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy shared a video asking voters to help “build on the progress we’ve made so far” to ensure “the Garden State works for everyone.”
“Everything we’ve been working for comes down to today,” he said in a tweet. “Reproductive rights, affordable health care, quality education — it’s all on the line.”
This is it, folks. Everything we’ve been working for comes down to today. Reproductive rights, affordable health care, quality education — it’s all on the line. We’ve come too far to turn back now. So get out there and VOTE! pic.twitter.com/6Mc8du9wOW
— Phil Murphy (@PhilMurphyNJ) November 2, 2021
Murphy’s Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli shared photos from his final campaign stop in his hometown of Raritan, New Jersey.
“New Jersey is broken, you know it and I know it,” he said in a tweet. “But we can fix it – together.”
Closed out the campaign in the same place where it all began 22 months ago – my hometown of Raritan.
New Jersey is broken, you know it and I know it. But we can fix it – together. Get out and vote today! #LetsFixNJ pic.twitter.com/hcXdAYFAHW
— Jack Ciattarelli (@Jack4NJ) November 2, 2021
In Virginia, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin shared an image from his last campaign event as the polls opened early Tuesday morning.
Virginia’s Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, shared a video telling voters “we have a chance to deny darkness its day and keep the drumbeat of progress.”
Tomorrow, Virginians will come together and choose a better future for our Commonwealth. Let’s do this. 💥
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 2, 2021
Voting machine issues reported in New Jersey
Voter machine issues have already been reported in Monmouth County, New Jersey Tuesday morning.
A voter in Keyport said the machine chose a candidate when she hovered her hand over the screen, according to News12 reporter Jim Murdoch.
“It appears that the touch screen is extremely sensitive and voters should be utilizing the finger cots to make their selections on the screen,” Robin Major, from the Monmouth County Board of Elections, said. “These finger cots were provided at the polling sites by the Board of Elections. Stylus pens should only be utilized on the poll books.”
Major said election officials are “going to have to work closely with our vendor to see what we can do about this problem going forward.”
