Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ekes out win over GOP challenger: LIVE UPDATES

Republican New Jersey state Senate candidate and truck driver Ed Durr is on the verge of defeating longtime Senate President Steve Sweeney in a sweeping victory that would upend Democratic Party leadership in the Garden State.

The 62-year-old Raymour & Flanagan truck driver holds a lead of more than 2,000 votes in a tight race for the state's Third District Senate seat. 

"I didn’t beat him. We beat him," Durr said on "Fox News Primetime" late Wednesday. "The state of New Jersey, the people of New Jersey beat him. They listened to what I had to say and I listened to what they had to say, and it’s a repudiation of Governor Murphy [who] went and locked us down and ignored the people’s voice and senator Sweeney chose to do nothing for those 18 months," he said. 

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Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will hang onto his job by a thread Wednesday after a nail-biter of an election against GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

The Associated Press called the race for the incumbent Wednesday after Ciattarelli carried a lead of just over 1,000 votes overnight. But the remaining ballots allowed Murphy to close that gap and remain the governor of the Garden State, despite a political environment that led to several major upsets for Republicans Tuesday, including in the Virginia governor's race. 

"For almost four years now, our focus has not been on trying to do more for those who already have much, but to do much for those in the middle and at the bottom so that they have more opportunity," Murphy said in his election night remarks. "Our mission has been simple to build a state where every child, regardless of race or gender, creed or zip code, has the opportunity to live out their hopes and achieve their American dream."

New Jersey is counting ballots very slowly. A handful of counties have released small batches of vote this afternoon, but reporting is stagnant in Camden, Essex, and Union counties, where tens of thousands of ballots potentially remain. These counties are critical to the outcome of the race.

House Republicans will be pushing a "Parents' Bill of Rights," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Wednesday after Republican Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin won an upset against Democrat Terry McAuliffe in a campaign where schools were a major issue.

"We will soon unroll a 'Parents' Bill of Rights' It doesn't matter your wealth, the color of your skin. Once you have a child, it is no longer what you become. It is now what opportunity your children will have," McCarthy said. "You have a right to know what's being taught in in school. You have a right to participate. Education is the great equalizer. We are all created equal and we're going to make sure we make that happen across the country."

Among the major education issues in the Virginia election were critical race theory in schools and mask mandates. Loudoun County, Va., specifically became a hotbed of controversy and was one of several deep blue counties where Youngkin significantly outperformed former President Donald Trump, who lost the state by 10 percentage points.

Education and Labor Committee Ranking Member Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.,

"Last night's victory in Virginia proves that the voices of parents matter. It proves that parents will not and cannot be silenced," she said.

"Education is at the forefront of voters' minds because it matters," she added. "It matters what our kids learn in school. It matters what books are in our school libraries. It matters what kids believe about their country. Most importantly, it matters what our kids believe they are capable of achieving."

Foxx slammed teachers unions and added that state and local governments should control education, and not the federal government. She also said Republicans plan to reject "leftist indoctrination" and "critical race theory." Foxx also said, "the days of caving to powerful union bosses are over."

In remarks to reporters after Republican Glenn Youngkin beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Democrats in Congress did little to help McAuliffe win.

Specifically, Warner said, Democrats should have passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill weeks ago.

"Only in Washington could people think that it is a smart strategy to take a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and prevent your president from signing that bill into law," Warner said.

Progressives have been holding the infrastructure bill hostage to ensure they get the level of spending and programs they want in Democrats massive reconciliation spending bill. They argue they're merely ensuring that President Biden's full agenda gets passed and that untrustworthy moderates don't tank reconciliation.

But Warner said Wednesday they may have also been annoying voters who want their roads and bridges fixed.

"The last couple months I've been appealing to my Democratic colleagues: Let's get the president the infrastructure bill," he said. "Not only in terms of the substance but also in terms of showing that we can govern in a pragmatic practical way."

On the campaign trail for McAuliffe, Warner said, "What I heard was... 'You guys got the White House, the Senate, the House, when are you going to get more things done?'"

Warner also made clear he supports also passing reconciliation, which is currently expected to cost at least $1.75 trillion. He said that despite spending concerns from some, the content of the bill should be popular.

"We also need to finish the second item on the agenda," Warner said. "I don't know Virginia voters of any stripe.. that don't think we ought to lower the cost of childcare, that don't believe that it's not fair that Americans pay five and ten times more for their drugs like insulin than folks in any other country."

But, the senator said, Democrats will also have to govern from the middle, and the strategy of some progressives in Congress has not been helping in states like Virginia.

"You can't win in Virginia if you only appeal to very liberal voters. That can work in certain other states, it doesn't work there," Warner said.

After a crushing defeat for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race and a New Jersey gubernatorial election that is far too close for comfort for Democrats, it took only hours for different factions of the party to start hurling blame at one another. 

"Hopefully progressives will get the wake-up call," a moderate Democratic source told Fox News Wednesday morning. As it became clear the Virginia race was closer than anticipated, there was mumbling among moderate Democrats that the left wing of the party may be going too far on issues from massive government spending to wokeism in education and other institutions, driving away suburban voters.

The Virginia victory was so jarring for Democrats because it's a state that President Biden won by 10 percentage points in 2020 and that they believed shifted to become safely blue with the explosion of the northern Virginia suburbs. 

The New Jersey gubernatorial race, where incumbent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy was winning by under 2,000 votes Wednesday morning, also was a major regression for Democrats. Biden won there by 15 percentage points. 

Colin Strother, a Democratic strategist who was a longtime aide for moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said both progressives and moderates deserve criticism – but it's the Biden administration that needs to get into gear for Democrats to hold onto their majorities in 2022. 

"We need to end the circular firing squad and get to work. Our biggest obstacle to success is members of our own Democratic Party," Strother told Fox News. "We have one or two senators holding up big ticket items that we need to pass. We have a handful of the far left in the House who have never done anything acting like they dictate the agenda and the timeline for bills passing."

"Having said that, this all goes back to a lack of effective communication from the White House," Strother added. "We are not going to win this thing with the president in Delaware, the vice president missing in action, and our secretaries on personal leave… The Biden Administration and all those associated with it need to understand the election is going on right now. Everything they are doing or not doing is impacting our chances in 2022."

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Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey took a narrow lead over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli late Wednesday morning as more votes started to trickle in.

The GOP candidate carried a miniscule lead overnight, but Murphy took a lead of just over 1,700 votes when more votes were reported shortly before 10:30 ET. 88% of the expected votes have been counted.

The race is still too close to call with significant votes remaining in Camden, Essex, and Union counties, and in particular, significant mail and provisional vote left in Essex County, Fox News' Rémy Numa reports. These are expected to heavily favor the Democrat.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday morning the upset win by Republican Glenn Youngkin in Virginia's governor's race isn't going to affect Democrats' plans to pass their massive reconciliation spending bill and the bipartisan infrastructure bill in Congress, Fox News' Kelly Phares reported.

"No," Pelosi said when asked if the election will change the House's agenda.

Some moderates were warning that a failure to pass the infrastructure bill might be hurting McAuliffe, while progressives argued that Democrats needed to go big to energize their base to get out and vote.

Those debates are likely to continue with even more intensity with not only a GOP win in Virginia, but the outcome of the New Jersey gubernatorial race still in doubt.

In Tuesday's New Jersey and Virginia governor races, Republicans massively outperformed nearly all expectations in results that would have been dismissed as nearly impossible by most observers just a few months ago. 

Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin beat former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, after President Biden won there by more than 10 percentage points in 2020. 

GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli early Wednesday morning was leading incumbent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy by about 1,000 votes with 88% reporting. Biden won that state by nearly 16 percentage points. 

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The race for governor in New Jersey remained too close to call early Wednesday as Gov. Phil Murphy’s Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli clings on to a slight lead.

The two waged tense campaigns and Murphy presented himself as a solid progressive. Ciattarelli tried to paint Murphy as out of touch with the average voter and was critical of his leadership during the COVID-19 epidemic.

The campaigns ended their Election Night parties without either claiming victory, NJ.com reported. Both struck optimistic tones with their supporters.

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Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin steps out onto the stage and declares victory in the race.

"We stand here this morning at this defining moment, a defining moment that yes started with two people on a walk, and a defining moment that is million of Virginians walking together," he said.

"Together we will change the trajectory of the commonwealth and friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one," he said.

He focuses on schools, a key issue in the campaign, promising to 'embrace parents, not ignore them' and "re-establish excellence" in schools.

He also says he will grow the economy with new jobs, he will cut taxes on gas, retirement, fund law enforcement and keep communities safe.

He promises Virginia will "no longer be a commonwealth of low expectations, we will be a commonwealth of high expectations."

"My fellow Virginians, this is our moment," he says.

Virginia Lt. Gov.-elect Winsome Sears is now addressing the crowd, and cites her immigrant background, and says she is living proof of how the country has moved forward since the Civil Rights movement when her father first came to the country.

"What you are looking at is the American dream, the American dream," she says.

Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin is expected to speak momentarily.

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New Jersey's gubernatorial race is still too close to call late Tuesday night, a potential stunner in a state that was thought to easily lean towards incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli is outperforming expectations as results come in close to midnight Tuesday, despite most polls showing Murphy with a comfortable lead as election day neared.

The close race in New Jersey comes as the nation's other gubernatorial race in Virginia is also too close to call late into Tuesday, though Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin continued to hold a commanding lead in the race for most of the evening.

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From Fox News' Houston Keene: Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s camp was left shell-shocked as Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin surged to a commanding lead in a state that President Biden won by 10 points just one year ago. 

Youngkin emerged with a slim lead in the polls over McAuliffe heading into Election Day, foreshadowing his strong performance on Tuesday. 

McAuliffe's election night party was initially buzzing with enthusiasm as supporters waited for polls to close. But that enthusiasm gradually shifted over the course of the night, as Democratic hopes for a swift victory melted away. 

The room had largely emptied out even before Youngkin had addressed supporters at his own party.

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Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Chris Piper said Tuesday that the statewide election between former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin ran smoothly.

Piper said, "Today was an overwhelmingly good day for Virginia," and that the election was "about as smooth as we could ask for," according to Richmond-based The Virginia Mercury.

Piper, who said 88,000 ballots had yet to be returned, said there was no update on that number as of Election Night, but assured that they would be counted if they arrive Friday by noon. 

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Glenn Youngkin now has a commanding lead in the Virginia gubernatorial race. There is still a significant amount of outstanding vote in highly populated counties.

The Fox News Decision Desk is not yet ready to make a projection.