Virginia and New Jersey drew particular attention as states where Republicans were supposed to be less viable than ever after years of Trump fatigue. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) exercised often-monarchical pandemic policy that won raves from voters. He unilaterally authorized the seizure of private property, dismissed Bill of Rights-based objections to lockdown orders, and sniffed that protests against his actions didn’t rise to the level of other causes. As recently as August, voters considered COVID-19 the top issue facing the state, with Monmouth University pollsters reporting “voters give Murphy a clear advantage on the pandemic (46% to 21% for [Republican Jack] Ciattarelli) and a narrower edge on jobs and the economy (35% to 27%).” Overall, Murphy led by double digits.

So, how did election day get resolved in Murphy’s favor by what Politico calls “a razor-thin margin”?

“From a list of seven different policy areas asked about in the poll, ‘taxes’ emerges, nominally, as the top issue,” and the pandemic slipped to fourth place, Monmouth’s pollsters noted when they revisited the contest last week. Murphy brought the same not-so-light touch to taxes as to public health.