INTO THE WEEDS — A short election eve dispatch from Daniel Han : Ciattarelli spent yesterday touring small businesses across north and central Jersey — in keeping with his "Main Street'' campaign message and promise to improve the state's business climate. Murphy waded into friendly territory in Union City — which featured an abundance of state Senator/Mayor Brian Stack portraits and fewer Murphy signs — and then South Orange. Both candidates stuck to their talking points throughout. At Carteret bar, Ciattarelli assured one first responder they would not face an absolute vaccine mandate if he were governor, and promised another supporter to freeze property taxes automatically at age 65. Murphy touted a full pension payment and listed off his progressive accomplishments during his rallies, from strict environmental regulations to legalized cannabis (the latter of which could be smelled in the crowd). "Even in the midst of the overwhelming tragedy of this pandemic folks, it is sunrise in New Jersey," Murphy said in South Orange.
WHAT TO WATCH — Governor's race and other things to watch on Election Day, by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan and Matt Friedman : It's Election Day in New Jersey, with the race between incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli at the top of the ticket. Most opinion polls give Murphy a lead of between 6 points and 11 points. Should he defeat Ciattarelli, a former three-term member of the General Assembly, Murphy would be the first Democratic governor reelected in four decades. A Ciattarelli victory in deep-blue New Jersey would send shock waves through Trenton, which has been controlled by the Democrats for the past four years. It would also have national implications for the 2022 midterm elections, possibly foreshadowing disaster for Democrats. In addition to the governor's race, all 120 seats in the state Legislature are on the ballot. Voters will also be asked two public questions to expand New Jersey's gambling laws. YOU DO NOT WANT STACK TO FEEL BERNED — "Stack versus Sanders as time ticks down in Murphy world," by InsiderNJ's Max Pizarro: " It started last week when Stack – who serves as the mayor of his Hudson County city an specializes in generating massive election numbers – got a call last week from Murphy's inner sanctum. The governor wouldn't be able to make a scheduled rally with Stack on his home turf. Why the hell not? Bernie Sanders would be in town, stumping for Murphy. It was almost too much to comprehend. Stack turns human bodies into vote totals for whomever he designates emperor of the realm ... It takes a lot of time, money, energy and organization to put together a big, governor-sized rally. Murphy throwing over Stack for Bernie was the New Jersey version of giving the mayor of Boston the finger in order to stand next to Ben Affleck … The Murphy camp and Stack managed to reschedule the event for tonight … He didn't want to be a Star … Stack just wanted to be politically locally grounded, and strictly observant of protocols, and true to one's word. For Murphy's part, his allies could high five with the rationalization that while moderates and progressives push and shove in Washington, D.C. with no end in sight, they have a campaign that could accommodate progressive Vermont socialist Sanders and raging broom handle-job providing pragmatist Stack, literally the son of a public transit worker." GOLD SACKS — State funding, new projects abound as Murphy rounds out campaign, by POLITICO's Sam Sutton: One of Gov. Phil Murphy's strongest advantages in the final days of the 2021 gubernatorial race can be summed up in three words: He's the governor. In between campaign events, the New Jersey Democrat in recent weeks has announced billions of dollars in additional state and federal funding for everything from child care programs to transportation grants. He's attended groundbreaking ceremonies for a $250 million wind port, a $283 million high school in Perth Amboy and a $300 million multi-hyphenate tech village in Jersey City. And then there were the VIP visits: President Joe Biden was in Kearny last week as construction began on a new, $1.6 billion Portal North Bridge that will ease congested commuter lines into New York City THE CRASSROOTS — "New Jersey GOP focuses on bottom of the ticket school board races to drive voter turnout," by The Record's Matt Fagan: "New Jersey Republicans are increasingly seeing an opportunity to make political gains by targeting their message to parents disgruntled with mask and/or vaccine mandates as well as to those that object to the state's new inclusion and equity curricula requirements.of the ticket school board races to drive voter turnout … While typically low-key and often uncontested, in 2021 races for nonpartisan school boards seats have often turned into angry campaigns as parents and elected officials plunged into a maelstrom of debate about masks, vaccines and curriculum … This year, Bergen has 317 candidates for 191 seats, a ratio of 1.66 per open seat. In 2020, Bergen had 211 candidates for 156 open seats for a ratio of 1.35. In 2021 Passaic County has 92 candidates for 53 open seats—a ratio of 1.74 vs. 2020's 1.45 ratio with 68 candidates for 47 seats. Statewide there are 2,174 candidates vying for 1,594 seats, a ratio of 1.36 in 2021 vs. a 1.26 ratio in 2020. While this year is not highest, it is creeping toward the last peak 1.44 candidates in 2011." BUT... — "Where are all the school board candidates? 156 open ballot slots on Election Day " BECAUSE I WANT TO CONTRADICT MY OWN ARTICLE FROM YESTERDAY — "How New Jersey may prove some politics still is local," by CNN's Harry Enten: "You may not have heard much about the election in the Garden State between incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. One big reason why: In an era in which many non-presidential elections, like Virginia's, have clear national implications, the race in New Jersey looks like it'll prove that some politics is still local … I went back and looked at the gubernatorial elections in the year before and year of every midterm since 2010. The past presidential vote in each state was not statistically significantly correlated with the governor's result, once you controlled for incumbency. In other words, it didn't really matter on average what the tilt of a state was on the presidential level, when voters had a record to judge the incumbent governor on." A HOME RUN ON A LITTLE LEAGUE FIELD — About 3 percent of eligible New Jerseyans voted early in-person, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman : New Jersey's first-ever period of in-person early voting on machines is over, and 207,863 people took advantage of it, Secretary of State Tahesha Way said Monday. That accounts for just over 3 percent of New Jersey's nearly 6.6 million registered voters. Nevertheless, during a press conference in Trenton on Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy called the program "a home run as far as I'm concerned." Murphy signed the law enacting in-person early voting in March, requiring counties to set up several polling places within their borders. It ran from Oct. 23 through Oct. 31. —"The link between New Jersey And Virginia governor's races" —"Murphy, Ciattarelli touring NJ as campaign coming to close" —" Jack Ciattarelli: Why I want your vote to become New Jersey's next governor" —Mulshine: "The big election question: How will the turnout turn out?" GRAY POTPAYA — " Possessing marijuana is legal in N.J. but these 'gray' market operators got busted," by NJ Advance Media's Susan K. Livio: "Six months ago, Dan Kessel of Berkeley Township talked openly about Bud Hub, the cannabis gifting and delivery business he ran with his sister, almost daring law enforcement authorities to investigate and musing about 'my goal to be legal.' Today, Kessel sits in the Ocean County Correctional Facility where he's been held without bail since Oct. 20. Berkeley Township Police arrested him on money laundering and marijuana distribution charges. They confiscated his jeep, with its Bud Hub signage, $400,000 in cash and an unknown quantity of marijuana from his Berkeley home and a property in Toms River. Kessel, 36, is the latest person to be caught operating in the 'grah' cannabis market — the sale of goods and services that are technically legal, but are not authorized to be sold." 400 MASTROS — "NJ Transit should get $3.6B in federal aid, but N.Y. is holding it up," by NJ Advance Media's Larry Higgs: "The day of reckoning could be approaching for NJ Transit riders as the agency has used all of two types of federal transit coronavirus aid it's received, and is blocked from using $3.6 billion in other federal money it is supposed to receive, but is held up due to a stalemate with New York state. Gov. Phil Murphy could use what he called the 'nuclear option' to force New York to free up that money, but declined to say whether he would when asked by NJ Advance Media at a press conference on Monday. The dispute? New York doesn't want to accept the same federal formula 47 other states used to divide COVID-19 funds intended to keep trains and buses rolling as transit systems recover. Instead, it wants $637 million more in federal COVID-19 transit aid than New Jersey and Connecticut, blocking the other states from accessing the all the funds. The nuclear option would be vetoing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's meeting minutes, which would slam the brakes on any business the Authority's board approved that month." —Rutgers-Eagleton poll gives Murphy an 8-point lead over Ciattarelli —"'I don't have a timetable, but sooner is better than later,' Murphy says about offering unemployment help in person" —"Kornacki says he'll look for national implications in N.J. results" —Hennelly: "Breaking Jersey Dems' second term jinx as Biden sinks lower" —"New Jersey commuters driving into Manhattan are only part of the problem | Opinion" —"Souls to the polls voter drive rally in Newark's Weequahic Park highlights importance of religious vote in N.J. governor's race" —Video: "Did Gov. Murphy deliver on 2017 campaign commitments?" —"Hitting the streets in LD16, and navigating anger, negativity, hardship and history" | 
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