(Bloomberg) -- Candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, the only two U.S. states holding elections this year, battled for last-minute voters with the election a day away. Democrats are fighting to hang onto control in both states.

The races are the first major ones since Democrat Joseph Biden became president. With Biden’s approval ratings in decline, Republican wins are possible in either state. Currently, 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats are governors in the U.S. The race is closer in Virginia, where incumbent Ralph Northam is barred by term limits from running again. Democratic former Governor Terry McAuliffe is neck-and-neck with Republican Glenn Youngkin in Virginia’s most expensive gubernatorial race ever.

In New Jersey, first-term Democratic Governor Phil Murphy led by nine to 11 percentage points against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker, in the most recent polls. New Jersey voters lean Democratic, but frustration over high taxes has kept Democrats from winning second terms as governor for more than four decades.

New York City, meanwhile, is likely to pick Democrat Eric Adams as its next mayor. Adams led Republican Curtis Sliwa by 40 points heading into the election.

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Ciattarelli Hits the Jersey Diners

On Monday, Ciattarelli had eight stops on his itinerary, including the landmark Tick Tock Diner in Clifton. The candidate will finish Monday at the Basilone Statue in Raritan.

Murphy was scheduled to hold a virus briefing Monday afternoon in Trenton. His campaign events included two national television appearances and an evening rally in South Orange.

Ciattarelli took advantage of New Jersey’s early voting law on Oct. 29, casting his ballot in Hillsborough. Murphy voted on Oct. 23, the first day of early in-person voting, in Long Branch.

As of Oct. 30, 622,593 people had voted early, with Democrats making up 59% of those cast and Republicans 23%, according to the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. 

New Jersey has 6.6 million registered voters -- 2.6 million Democrats, 1.5 million Republicans and 2.4 million unaffiliated with a party, according to state election data.

McAuliffe, Youngkin Barnstorm Virginia in Final Day 

In a sign of the close race for Virginia governor, McAuliffe and Youngkin will follow similar itineraries on Monday.

McAuliffe, who is seeking a second non-consecutive term as governor, and Youngkin, the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, will both hold last-minute rallies in Roanoke, Virginia Beach, Richmond and northern Virginia.

The final polls have shown McAuliffe’s once-solid lead evaporate, with the race essentially tied and some polls showing Youngkin ahead for the first time.

In October, McAuliffe said Biden’s low approval ratings were causing “headwinds” in the race, but in an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, McAuliffe said national political issues were not a problem.

“When I travel around Virginia, they’re not asking about what’s going on in Washington,” he said. “What I get asked about everyday, Chuck, is Covid.”

Former President Donald Trump will hold a tele-rally Monday for Youngkin. At a previous rally for Youngkin that Trump also phoned into, attendees gave the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag that was at the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Youngkin, who has tried to maintain a delicate balance between Trump’s supporters and suburban voters who dislike him, called the pledge “weird and wrong.”

 

 

(Adds New Jersey candidates’ plans)

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