Months later, Murphy still mum on organizational lines

Gov. Phil Murphy again declined to say whether he would seek re-election on organizational lines Tuesday, just weeks before Democratic Party officials begin awarding candidates preferential ballot positions.

“Nothing to report on organizational lines,” Murphy said at Tuesday’s virus briefing.

New Jersey’s practice of bracketing candidates based on slogan, a practice that inarguably lends advantage to establishment-backed candidates, has drawn increased focus from good government advocates and progressive Democrats allied with Murphy over past months.

Those groups want party lines nixed because they stifle primary challenges. New Jersey is the only state in the union to use such a system. Most others group candidates based on the office they’re seeking.

Organizational lines helped Murphy secure the Democratic nomination in 2017, and he’s sidestepped questions on whether he would seek them again in 2021 for nearly a year.

He’s faced no real fire from activists over the issue, and whatever path he chooses will likely prove uncontroversial. The governor is so far running unopposed, and he’s not expected to face a credible primary challenger.