No endorsement in NJ-2, Murphy says

Gov. Phil Murphy isn’t backing anyone in an increasingly-bitter second-district Democratic primary.

“We’ve made no endorsements in CD-2 other than, I’ll pound the table, I want a Democrat to win that seat,” Murphy said Tuesday. “And if we have any news there, I promise you we’ll let you know.”

Political science professor Brigid Harrison is faces Amy Kennedy in the bid for the Democratic nod to take on Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis).

Will Cunningham, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, retired FBI agent Robert Turkavage and West Cape May Commissioner John Francis III are also running.

Van Drew was elected as a Democrat but defected to the Republican Party after losing support among rank-and-file Democrats over his opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

Roughly a week before the congressman’s December defection, Murphy declined to endorse Van Drew for re-election, saying only that he would back whichever Democrat ended up on the ballot.