Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop held his campaign’s 75th meet and greet event Tuesday night, once again returning to the home of two of his gubernatorial opponents.
Fulop spoke to nearly 100 people at the Porta restaurant in Montclair, home to Rep. Mikie Sherrill and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller. His fourth meet and greet in Montclair comes as he and other Democratic gubernatorial candidates increasingly try to separate themselves from the pack with less than a month and a half until Election Day.
A resident of Montclair asked how the mayor can differentiate himself from Sherrill, who some consider the frontrunner in the Democratic primary. Fulop said Sherrill, if she wins the Democratic primary, would be more susceptible to attacks from the Republican nominee because of the county parties that support her.
“It’s not bad in this room of Democrats, but for independents and Republicans, he’s going to say, ‘This person is four more years of Phil Murphy,’” Fulop said. “He’s going to say, ‘You like your energy bill? Four more years of Phil Murphy.’”
The mayor said his campaign has serious momentum; he said 1,500 New Jerseyans have signed up to volunteer for him. He’s drawn similarly sized crowds across the state, and currently has 19 meet-and-greets scheduled before the primary, or about one event every other day.
Democrats are increasingly bringing the fight to Sherrill, who has led most publicly released polls. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka also visited Montclair on Tuesday to say Sherrill and other Democrats should more aggressively pursue policies to promote equity in the state.
One attendee asked how Fulop would govern if he had to work with legislators largely backed by the party leaders he has made a point of dissing throughout the campaign. Fulop said that if he’s elected, the energy behind the state’s politics would change wholesale, opening opportunities for him to enact his agenda. He said Republican Gov. Chris Christie fulfilled his goals with Democratic legislators, and that he knew how to operate the “levers of government.”
“If Chris Christie can do that in that environment, I’m 100% sure I can do that,” he said.