GLASSBORO, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — There’s just three weeks to go before New Jersey voters pick a governor, and Tuesday night, the two candidates will face off in the second and final debate.
As CBS2’s Nick Caloway reports, the first debate between Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, was a tense one.
“We’re still digging out of the damage that Trump did in terms of masking and making it political,” Murphy said.
“If those watching at home are playing that drinking game where you got to take a shot every time you hear Trump, I suggest they stop real soon because they’re gonna be bombed real soon,” Ciattarelli said.
The incumbent Murphy is defending his handling of the outbreak over the last 20 months, but some say his strict COVID policies are also on the ballot Nov. 2.
Republican state senator Holly Schepisi said Democratic voters have been calling her office, saying they plan to vote Republican.
“The random mask mandate that came out that 2 year olds now had to wear a mask pushed even those who are very pro-vaccination, whose older children are wearing masks, over the edge,” she said.
Murphy and other Democrats have tried to tie Ciatarelli to former president Donald Trump, who lost twice in New Jersey.
Saily Avelenda is executive director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
“You have science tells you what is going to help us get through this pandemic. We have vaccines, and we have masks. Science and data tell us this. The fact that the Republican party has politicized it into something that is not based on science, that is on them,” she said.
Ciatarelli has attacked Murphy on a range of issues, including the state’s high taxes, but for most voters, issue number one is the pandemic.
Ashley Koning is assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.
“Murphy’s ratings have soared throughout the entire pandemic and are still very solid with voters on that, and that’s something that’s at the forefront of New Jersey voters’ minds,” she said.
There are more than 1 million more registered Democrats in New Jersey than Republicans. That’s a built-in advantage for Murphy, whose lead in the polls has narrowed in recent weeks.
Tuesday’s debate is being held at Rowan University in Glassboro in South Jersey.
Early in-person voting starts Oct. 23 and runs through Halloween.
CBS2’s Nick Caloway contributed to this report.
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