A new book on the 2024 presidential campaign details New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to seek the Democratic presidential nomination if Joe Biden had opted out of a re-election bid.
In 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf detail a gathering of top New Jersey political insiders at a steakhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City in March 2022.
“On this night, several drinks in and wearing a blazer without a tie, Murphy used his welcome remarks to celebrate his success before turning his attention to the broader American political landscape,” the book says, according to an advance section sent to the New Jersey Globe. “Like most of the people sitting in the room, he did not believe Biden would actually run for a second term.”
One attendee remembered Murphy saying, “We love the president. If he runs, we’ll back him. If he doesn’t, should I?”
“The proposition wasn’t as spontaneous as it might have sounded in the moment. One month earlier, Murphy’s wife, Tammy, and former aides had launched a PAC and a nonprofit to tout the governor’s record—a signature move for politicians seeking higher office,” the book states. “Aides were also making calls behind the scenes, including to top Democratic strategists, asking if they could help raise his national profile and whether they were already committed to other potential presidential candidates.”
Former Viginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Murphy friend who has served as Democratic National Chairman, attended the Atlantic City dinner. McAuliffe had lost his comeback bid for governor in 2021.
The Atlantic City dinner came four months after Murphy came within three percentage points of losing re-election to Republican Jack Ciattarelli. A former Goldman Sachs executive who became the Democratic National Committee’s finance chairman before Barack Obama named him U.S. Ambassador to Germany had come from nowhere to capture his party’s nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Chris Christie in 2017. He had served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and as head of the National Governors Association.
“Murphy and his aides expected the 2022 midterms to be the starting gun for the 2024 presidential primary,” the book notes. “If Biden decided not to run, Murphy’s aides would be poised to launch a full-fledged presidential campaign in a matter of weeks. They were not deterred by Biden’s vice president and ostensible heir apparent, Kamala Harris.”
Dawsey writes for the Wall Street Journal, Pager for the New York Times, and Arnsdorf for the Washington Post. Their book, published by Penguin, is scheduled for release on July 8. Click HERE to purchase a copy.