Democrat Phil Murphy was elected as New Jersey’s 56th governor.

Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. Ambassador to Germany, may impact Congress if he appoints a replacement for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.

Menendez is currently on trial for corruption charges and the jury began deliberations on November 6, 2017.  If convicted, Menendez will face pressure to step down allowing a Democrat, opposed to exiting Republican Gov. Chris Christie, to appoint a replacement.

Murphy is set to take office on January 16, 2018.

The state Appellate Division recently upheld two state agency decisions related to contractor pay-to-play violations.

Della Pello Paving, Inc. lost two contracts totaling roughly $7 million and was barred from contracting with the state for the remainder of Gov. Chris Christie’s second term because it made a $500 contribution to Somerset County Republican Organization.

State pay-to-play laws prohibit a contractor from receiving a contract exceeding $17,500 if it contributed more than $300 during the previous 18 months to a county political party committee.

Della Pello Paving challenged the state agency decisions claiming the contribution was intended for Sheriff Frank Provenzano’s campaign and not for the county political committee. The inadvertent contribution needed to be returned within 30 days to avoid a pay-to-play violation. Della Pello did not request and receive reimbursement until more than a year after making the donation; moreover, Provenzano was not running for re-election the year the contribution was made.

Following the decision of the appellate court, Della Pello’s attorney sought emergency review by the state Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case.

On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed bipartisan legislation designed to expand the state’s pay-to-play rules by requiring the state to disclose fees paid to outside investment managers. The decision was made while Christie’s administration faces a new investigation into New Jersey pension fees paid to financial firms contributing to Republican groups.

Christie argues the bill’s disclosure requirements would have had a chilling effect on the state’s ability to attract investment managers. Others criticize the governor’s decision and maintain he vetoed the bill because it would have complicated his ability to raise presidential campaign money from firms currently managing billions of dollars in the state’s public pension system.

Christie “removed the provisions that would prevent pay-to-play between state investors and national political organizations connected to state political figures, including the governor himself, and the changes he made to the disclosure requirements are far too weak” said state Sen. Sheila Turner, the Democrat who sponsored the bill.

Photo of Governor Christie by Bob Jagendorf on Wikimedia Commons.

Here are articles from major news sources analyzing the election outcomes:

“5 things we learned from Election Night 2013” by Peter Hamby, Paul Steinhauser, Ashley Killough, and Dan Merica in CNN Politics.

“Election Day 2013: What happened, and what it all means” by Alia E. Dastagir in USA Today.

“2013 Election: State and Local Race Results” by Louis Jacobson in Governing.

“Now the Midterm Campaign Begins — With Both Sides on Offense” by David Hawkings in Roll Call.

“Markos Moulitsas: House in play in 2014” by Markos Moulitsas in The Hill.

Connecticut: “How Much Do State Politics Matter In Local Elections?” by Christine Stuart in CTNewsJunkie.com.

New Jersey: “Democrats retain control of New Jersey legislature” by Michael Linhorst (Associated Press) in The Record.

New Jersey: “Chris Christie Coasts to 2nd Term as Governor of New Jersey” by Kate Zernike and Jonathan Martin in The New York Times.

New York: “Democrat Bill de Blasio elected mayor of New York” by Jonathan Lemire (Associated Press) in the Times Union.

Ohio: “Lawmakers looking at tougher ballot-access thresholds for minor political parties” by Jeremy Pelzer in The Plain Dealer.

Virginia: “Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, Is Elected Governor of Virginia in Tight Race” by Trip Gabriel in The New York Times.

National: Ethics-violations-as-campaign-tool in “Ethics Talking Points Take Campaign Stage” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Illinois: “No law stops indicted IL politico from seeking re-election” by Andrew Thomason in the Illinois Statehouse News.

Louisiana: “Watchdog group hopes to shine up Louisiana ethics laws” by Jeff Adelson in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Here is my personal favorite today: They have taken a poll in New Jersey and found that people there are tired of the cursing and name calling among their politicians. Take a look at “Jerks, snobs and …? N.J. voters are fed up with the nasty names” by Matt Friedman in The Star-Ledger. Here is another article offering good coverage – “NJ voters want less name-calling from politicians” by Michael Symons in the Asbury Park Press.