TRENTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday said he was looking to connect with New Jerseyans who are “screaming out in protest” as pollsters re-evaluate how they are going to predict races moving forward.
In his first public comments since narrowly winning re-election, the governor admitted there were a lot of people in the state who he failed to connect with on the campaign trail.
“I care deeply about the folks out there who are screaming out in protest – or however you want to describe it – that it is not working for them, and I commit that we will be there for not just [those who] voted for me, but for everybody,” he said.
Murphy added that he wants to put the tight race behind him and move forward with progress for all state residents.
“What I take away from this is there’s a lot of hurt out there, which we knew, but it's a big group of folks who are screaming out for help and, I want to be the administration that gives them that help,” he said.
That future will, however, be without the man who has led the New Jersey State Senate for 12 years, Steve Sweeney, who was defeated by Republican truck driver Ed Durr.
Murphy said he will be sad to see Sweeney depart from state government.
“Steve has been a great partner, particularly over the past of two, two and a half years, but at every step of the way we’ve gotten a ton done together,” he said.
Durr is already being scrutinized for anti-Muslim and xenophobic posts on social media and Murphy said he does not feel welcoming towards the new politician.
“This guy who is apparently winning is a dangerous guy … the stuff that's on [his social media] is outrageous,” Murphy said.
Durr has apologized for his posts and deleted his social media accounts.
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On the bright side, the governor did say there were minimal issues with the state election systems on Tuesday.
However, pollsters who predicted the race would be much straightforward have been left reeling for the last few days.
In an op-ed for NJ.com this week, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, Patrick Murray, put it bluntly saying he “blew it.”
“In New Jersey, I totally missed a groundswell of support,” Murray told WCBS 880.
He said general polling is sound, but election polling has become much trickier over the years.
“When I started polling 25 years ago, the vast majority of people would pick up the phone because it was the home phone and they didn’t have caller ID and the assumption was, you wanted to talk to the person of the other side of the phone,” he said.
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Murray said with recent elections, there is a concern that polling is also affecting turnout, and he and other pollsters are considering stopping so-called “horse race” polling – polls that show likely margins of victory – three weeks before an election.
He also wants to stress to the public that polling is not about bias.
“I don't have an agenda other than to get it right,” Murray said. “That's what keeps me up at night, that's what keeps most public pollsters up at night – did we have it right?”
Murphy's GOP opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, has called for patience until the vote counting process plays out and called the Democratic incumbent's victory speech premature.
It could take weeks to count all of the mail-in votes and provisional ballots. Ciattarelli could call for a recount if there's reason to believe a counting error had occurred.