Murphy dodges question on support for organization lines

With his wife considering mounting a run for the U.S. Senate, Gov. Phil Murphy today declined to state if he supports New Jersey’s county line system or wants it abolished.

“My opinion, I don’t think – I don’t want to disappoint you – will not have changed,” Murphy said at a statehouse press conference. “First of all, I think it’s subject to a lawsuit, and so there’s very little I can say about that.”

A group of progressives – generally strong supporters of Murphy – have filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging the constitutionality of organization lines.

The New Jersey Globe asked Murphy about his stance on the line after some Democrats – Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), who is running for U.S. Senate, and Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop, who is running for governor in 2025 – announced their opposition to the line system.

The line has caused some division among Democrats. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) recently told the Globe that he supports it. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) has sidestepped the question. Gottheimer and Sherrill are seen as likely gubernatorial candidates in 2025.

Although Murphy has avoided the question, he benefited from running on every organization line twice, in 2017 and 2021.

If First Lady Tammy Murphy does decide to enter the U.S. Senate race against indicted incumbent Bob Menendez and Andy Kim, she is widely expected to seek the county lines.

In nearly every New Jersey county, party chairs gather before a primary and pick their favored candidate, who then gets a preferable placement on the ballot. Historically, party-endorsed candidates enjoy a high rate of success.

In the past year, the county line system has faced renewed suspicion, with many calling for it to be abolished. State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence), who stood with Murphy at an announcement today on a different issue, has sponsored legislation that would abolish the line.

Last year,  U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi allowed the lawsuit to proceed.  The matter could extend for several years.

Murphy pivoted to praising Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, his secretary of state since 2018, for her leadership of election matters in New Jersey. “The Lieutenant Governor has done an extraordinary job overseeing elections when we have both a pandemic and an assault on democracy. Turnout has exceeded expectations, although this election I worry about turnout: no governor, no senator, no member of the House, so that’s a concern I want to make sure people vote, regardless of who they vote for,” Murphy said.  “But I think New Jersey, we’ve done a lot of opening up democracy, I think we’ve done a good job. I think we let the lawsuit play out, and we see where it falls.”