Voters react to close New Jersey governor's race

COLLINGSWOOD, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Two days past Election Day, votes in New Jersey were still being tallied.

Projected winner Democrat Phil Murphy was narrowly ahead of Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in the governor's race.

RELATED: Murphy barely wins in NJ while Youngkin upsets in Virginia

Action News spoke to residents of Collingswood, New Jersey about the close election.

"I was not aware it was going to be this tight up until voting day," said Nick Peperone of Collingswood.

"I was very shocked, surprised," said Kathy Clemency of Collingswood, of the closeness of the race.

"My overall view is, I want to know the election results. I want to know that there's not any type of fraud going on," remarked Mary McMonagle of Collingswood.

On Wednesday night, Ciattarelli Campaign Communications Director Stami Williams tweeted, "With the candidates separated by a fraction of a percent out of 2.4 million ballots cast, it's irresponsible of the media to make this call when the New Jersey Secretary of State doesn't even know how many ballots are left to be counted."

Issues that drove voters to the polls included the pandemic response and the state economy.

"I want to see them talking about what action they're going to take. How they're going to bring New Jersey back, how they're going to get people into jobs," McMonagle said.

Ben Moore, who owns Everette Wilson Designs on Haddon Avenue, said, "There are many things that have been turned into political issues that probably shouldn't have in the past, and so people just realized one way they could make a difference is by going out to vote."

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one.

The party that wants a recount must file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.

RELATED: Phil Murphy narrowly reelected governor in New Jersey