After Christie, Trenton is headed toward more tax-and-spend decline.

Gov. Chris Christie’s election in New Jersey in 2009 augured a bumper crop of GOP reformers, and now progressives are hoping that a victory by Democrat Phil Murphy in the state’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday will presage an upswell of Sandernistas. One lesson from Mr. Christie’s tenure is that voters will turn left if Republicans fail to deliver on growth and reform. Mr. Christie defeated Democrat Jon Corzine in 2009 by promising to drain the swamp in Trenton, challenge public union rule and revive the state’s economy. But after some modest early successes, the Governor gave up to run for President and now the state is heading back to the policies that brought it low.

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