TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) — One of two gubernatorial contests in the country this Election Day is shaping up to be a close race in New Jersey, where Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli made their final appeals to voters Monday.

“This is, by all accounts, the tightest race that is happening this Election Day. The gubernatorial race is likely to be a nail-biter,” said ABC News Washington Bureau Chief Rick Klein.

Ciattarelli, a former state legislator who lost the governor’s race four years ago by three points, is backed this year by President Donald Trump. He campaigned Monday at Murphy’s Tavern in Passaic County, focusing on taxes, housing and childcare.

Sherrill, a former naval officer and current congresswoman, spoke at an event in Morristown, blaming Trump’s tariffs and what she called the “Big Beautiful Bill” for rising everyday costs.

MORE | Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli clash in final NJ governor’s debate | Watch the full debate

Recent trends show the historically Democratic state shifting to the right. Klein said New Jersey politics is becoming less predictable.

“Democrats cannot take this state for granted, certainly not any longer. It has gotten tighter, it has gotten redder by all accounts, and in almost every part of the state we saw Donald Trump pick up more vote share than he did four years earlier,” Klein said.

It has been 60 years since one party won the governor’s race three times in a row in New Jersey.

For more on where both candidates stand on the issues, watch this gubernatorial debate moderated by Action News and WABC in New York:

Watch the full New Jersey gubernatorial debate between Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill.

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