No reason for lack of visits to LD8, LD1, Murphy says

Gov. Phil Murphy said there wasn’t any reason his election day weekend campaign blitz didn’t take him down to South Jersey’s two competitive races.

“Burlington is a county we care a lot about and spend a lot of time in there, so there’s no particular reason for that,” Murphy said. “And I wish the guys in Cape May well. It’s a tough race for them, and I wish them the best.”

Murphy’s campaign blitz saw him visiting mostly counties north of Route 195, with numerous visits to Morris, Mercer and Hudson counties.

First Lady Tammy Murphy did headline a canvass launch in the eighth district, where Democrats Gina LaPlaca and Mark Natale face Assemblyman Ryan Peters and former Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield.

Neither Murphy made it down to the first district, which is host to the year’s only State Senate race, though that may have been a politically-deft move.

Cumberland County Republican Chairman Michael Testa has repeatedly attacked Murphy in his bid to oust State Sen. Bob Andrzejczak, and the governor’s approval rating in the right-leaning district lags behind that of President Donald Trump, according to a Stockton University poll released last month.