Jack Ciattarelli, speaking publicly late this afternoon for the first time since Election Night, said Phil Murphy’s victory speech was “premature,” but also told his supporters to be wary of crazy, election conspiracy theories.

He said the closeness of the race sent “shock waves” through the political establishment, but that it did not surprise him. He said it is traditional for the decent and hard working people of New Jersey to bring the state back to the middle if it veers too far in one direction.

As of now, Murphy leads Ciattarelli by about 44,000 votes.

The Republican said there are “tens of thousands” of votes still to be counted and that his campaign is watching that process.

Speaking in a video posted on his Facebook page, Ciattarelli said no decision on seeking a recount or an audit of votes will be made until after all ballots are counted.

Not surprisingly, all sorts of election fraud reports are popping up on social media.

Ciattarelli, to his credit, doesn’t want to hear them.

“I don’t want people falling victim to wild conspiracy theories, or online rumors,” he said.

The bottom line of his roughly two-minute video – be patient until all votes are counted.