Nov. 3, 2021: Let the Democratic freakout begin
New Jersey\u2019s gubernatorial race is still too close to call as you wake up this morning. With 88% of the expected vote in, incumbent Phil Murphy is trailing Republican Jack Ciattarelli by just over 1,000 votes.\xa0\nPresident Joe returned from Europe overnight to a Washington where politics has been completely upended since he left six days ago.\xa0\nBefore he departed, Biden told House Democrats, \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s hyperbole to say that the House and Senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week.\u201d He meant inaction on his two legislative priorities, leaving Europe with no congressional backing for his climate proposals, and potential defeats in one or more crucial elections Tuesday that would make everything worse. Biden may have been prescient.\nRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio.\xa0Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.