Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill won a hotly contested campaign against Republican Jack Ciattarelli Tuesday night.

The fourth-term congresswoman locked in a major victory for state Democrats in the first election cycle since the start of President Trump’s current term. She secured her win in what was a tight race against Mr. Ciattarelli, who made his third gubernatorial bid after coming close to defeating Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021.

With 61 percent of the votes counted, Ms. Sherrill was declared the victor by The Associated Press at 9:23 p.m. with 57 percent of the votes over Mr. Ciattarelli under 43 percent.

The campaign grew more contentious in the final weeks, with the candidates targeting each other’s personal histories. 

During one of the final debates between the two politicians last month, Ms. Sherill took her opponent to task for his time operating the medical publishing company Galen, charging that his work there contributed to the opioid epidemic.

“He made his millions by working with some of the worst offenders in saying opioids were safe while tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died,” she said.

That prompted a fiery exchange in which the two shouted “shame on you” at each other.

The campaign was increasingly competitive with many polls showing a dead heat between both candidates.

A recent Emerson College poll had Ms. Sherrill clinging to a razor-thin edge of 49 percent over Mr. Ciattarelli who was at 48 percent among likely voters — well within the margin of error.

Both candidates were also forced to navigate political headwinds. Democrats faced a challenging political landscape since state voters hadn’t elected three consecutive governors from the same party since 1961 and growing frustration over affordability issues despite Democrats controlling both the governorship and state Legislature.

Republicans had to deal with Mr. Trump’s unfavorable standing in the state, despite recent electoral improvements for the party. Murphy’s 2021 victory was narrow, and former Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey by just 6 points over Trump last year — signaling a major gain of support for the GOP in a state that is traditionally blue.