By most accounts, last week’s debate between Gov. Phil Murphy and former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli went as expected. Both candidates swung at each other over topics such as masking, COVID-19 vaccines, abortion and LGBT issues, and were frequently interrupted by applause or jeers from the audience. But the lack of policy details left many observers wondering just how the state would be run over the next four years.

A joint poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University and the AARP found that 56% of the New Jersey electorate at least 50 years of age said they would pick the incumbent, compared to 31% who favored his challenger, a former state Assemblyman from Somerset County.

The second and last meeting ahead of November's election remained scant on details for the state’s business and economic climate, with both gubernatorial candidates being prodded several times by moderators to answer the question being asked to them: former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, for example, on what he would cut from the “bloated” state budget, and Gov. Phil Murphy on the cost of his 2050 clean energy goals.

New Jersey's current governor has continued to lead his opponent in all public-opinion polls so far, most by double digits.

Retired, longtime Burlington County state Sen. and news anchor Diane Allen and current Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, the state’s first African American Assembly Speaker, squared off for an hour against each other at Rider University on Oct. 5.

While the first 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial debate was light on details about the direction of the state's economy, and the state of its business climate, the event still left business groups somewhat confident and assured because of a key promise made by the incumbent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy: no new taxes.

The governor and his GOP challenger exchanged barbs over the incumbent's handling of the pandemic, his response to Tropical Storm Ida, LGBTQ rights and law enforcement policies.

The candidates will square off for a full hour beginning at 7 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. A second debate between the two is scheduled for Oct. 12 at Rowan University in Glassboro.

According to a report from Monmouth University, 52% of the New Jersey electorate approve of the job the governor is doing, compared to 54% in August and 57% in May.

The report from Monmouth University Polling Institute finds New Jersey's current governor with a 13-point lead over his opponent--compared to a 16-point lead in August polling. Still, a significant number of voters said they had no real opinion of the challenger's views, or that they did not know what those views were.

“If I enact changes to the tax code in partnership with the Legislature that accomplish the exact same thing as this program, and those enactments benefit and provide opportunity to all businesses, there’s no longer a need for that program," the Republican gubernatorial candidate tells NJBIZ.

Although the practice has been legal in New Jersey since 2018 for professional leagues - and seen billions of dollars in wagers - state law still prohibits bets from being placed in the state on university teams and games.