Conspiracy Theories Swirl After Democrat Phil Murphy Reelected New Jersey Governor—But There’s No Evidence Of Widespread Fraud
Topline
Following the narrow reelection victory of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), conspiracy theories about voter fraud began to fly in many online right-wing circles, despite an election night many political commentators said was the best for the GOP in years after sweeping Virginia’s top offices, continuing a trend of baseless fraud claims made by Republicans following former President Donald Trump’s entirely legitimate loss in the 2020 presidential election.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) speaks to supporters during an election victory party in Asbury … [+]
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Key Facts
The most popular conspiracy theory centers around a heavily edited, secretly recorded video from the far-right group Project Veritas—an organization notorious for publishing misleading videos.
The jump-cut-jittery clip of less than one minute claims to show a poll worker in Essex County illegally providing a ballot to a noncitizen who isn’t registered to vote, though the worker notes that the ballot may not count.
Still, some right-wing figures seized on the selectively edited video as evidence of fraud or election crimes taking place in the state, including, predictably, Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted Thursday morning: “Nothing to see here folks, just a blatant crime being committed!”
The Essex County Board of Elections did not respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Other conspiracy theories focused on Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli losing his lead over incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy in parts of the state hours after the polls closed, which some said amounted to “magic votes” for Democrats.
In fact, much of the outstanding vote that was counted long after the polls closed was from mail-in ballots in heavily Democratic parts of the state, which worked to help Murphy.
What To Watch For
Ciattarelli has not yet conceded the race, though he has not made any claims of fraud.
Surprising Fact
Ciattarelli largely distanced himself from Trump and has acknowledged that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Trump did not endorse Ciattarelli in the gubernatorial race.
Key Background
The New Jersey governor’s race wasn’t expected to be a particularly close contest, with Murphy holding high approval ratings and polling well leading up to the election. The last RealClearPolitics polling average before Election Day had Murphy with a 7.8-percentage-point lead, but the actual result was much closer. Murphy has been declared the winner, but with 92% of the vote reported as of Thursday morning, his lead over Ciattarelli was only by 1.6 percentage points—far from the resounding victory Democrats were hoping for. News for the Democrats was much worse farther south, though, with Trump-endorsed Republican Glenn Youngkin defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe to win the Virginia governorship. Republicans also won the lieutenant governor and attorney general races in the state. Before Tuesday’s results, the GOP hadn’t won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009.
Tangent
In a statement on Monday, Trump claimed the only way for Youngkin to win would be by “flooding the polls with those that believe in America First,” since he claimed his supporters had to “win bigger than the margin of fraud.” Youngkin notably did not invite Trump to Virginia to rally on his behalf.
Further Reading
Glenn Youngkin Wins Virginia Governor’s Race, Shifting State To GOP Control (Forbes)
Murphy Wins Reelection In Close New Jersey Governor Race (Forbes)
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