New Jerseyans aren’t always civil, but it’s still possible for a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican to have a rational and pleasant conversation about politics in the state. Dan Bryan is a former senior advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and is now the owner of his own public affairs firm, and Alex Wilkes is an attorney and former executive director of America Rising PAC who advises Republican candidates in New Jersey and across the nation, including the New Jersey GOP. Dan and Alex are both experienced strategists who are currently in the room where high-level decisions are made. They get together weekly with New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein to discuss politics and issues.
A wildfire, allegedly set by a teenager now charged with arson, has burned over 15,000 acres and caused the evacuation of thousands of Ocean County residents since midday Tuesday. That raises an old question: should the governor be in the state at the time of a crisis – or in this case, should Governor Murphy never have left? In 2025, is the transfer of constitutional authority really necessary? And Part Two: should Pat Callahan, the Superintendent of the State Police, have stayed behind?
Dan Bryan: First of all, my best wishes to everyone affected by these awful wildfires. Even as a political hack, we all need to remember the real people and lives affected by events like this.
Clearly, in 2025 there isn’t anything Governor Murphy could do about the wildfire from his Middle East trip that he could do from the ROIC in Ewing. His team is fully engaged, he is apprised regularly of the progress, and he is still the one making the big decisions. The public knows Governor Murphy as a leader who handles crisis management as well as anyone, and broadly believe he is up for any challenge.
So that raises another question – if he’s still so capable of leading as Governor even when he’s not inside the four walls of New Jersey, why should he have to name an acting Governor when he leaves the state? And, of course, the answer is he shouldn’t have to. I’m far more sympathetic to the idea of an acting Governor if the Governor is out of the country, but it’s beyond silly to have to designate an acting Governor for a trip to DC.
It’s 2025. An iPhone works just the same across New Jersey as it does across America. Let’s fix this.
Alex Wilkes: The optics are never good. God forbid this terrible event turns into something like the Palisades disaster, who wants to look like Karen Bass staying updated from ten time zones away in Africa? Let’s face it: if Montclair were on fire, he’d be on the plane home.
I don’t think the Constitution needs to be changed. I think that the weary, overtaxed citizens of New Jersey deserve someone who is physically present and in charge at all times. I don’t want a phone-it-in, FaceTime Governor if I have wildfires at my doorstep. Technology may be evolving, but the human touch remains paramount.
I’m praying for the people of Ocean County, and the brave first responders working tirelessly to save people, homes, and businesses from ruin.
Governor Murphy has got to have strong views on who he’d like to replace him next year. Should he try to make his own luck and endorse someone in the Democratic primary?
Alex: Well, the last time Governor Murphy meddled in a Democratic primary, he blew up a New Jersey political practice that has been in place since time immemorial. I wouldn’t say he has a good track record!
I think if you’re one of these candidates, you probably don’t want to be seen as the heir apparent to Phil Murphy. It has nothing to do with his policies, but it has everything to do with being the change candidate. For hard core Democrats energized to vote in this upcoming primary, this might mean a change further to the left (hard to imagine that this is actually possible). For unaffiliated voters in the general election, he could be a real drag for voters tired of tax hikes and booming energy bills. Bottom line: he should probably keep his powder dry.
Dan: There are plenty of Democratic candidates in this race that have strong relationships with the Governor and First Lady (maybe not all of them…). My bet is they’d be happy with any of them, and wouldn’t want to endorse against a candidate they like and have worked well with.
But the Governor’s real strength will come into play this fall, when Democrats will try to do something they haven’t done in 70 years – win three straight terms in the Governor’s Office. Governor Murphy is broadly popular in his eighth year, with approvals hovering somewhere around +20 according to Morning Consult. No candidate will want to make this election more about Murphy than about themselves, but at the same time, they’re crazy not to take advantage of his popularity and his successes.
There are smart ways to use the Governor as a weapon for Democrats this fall, and I’m confident he’ll do all he can to ensure the success of the Democratic nominee.
If you worked at the Pentagon advising Pete Hegseth on crisis communications, what would you be telling him?
Dan: Not everyone succeeds at everything! Maybe take some time for yourself. Gardening can be very rewarding.
On a personal note, I, for one, am shocked that hiring a Fox and Friends host to run the largest and most advanced army in human history has backfired. I just don’t know who to believe in anymore.
Alex: You obviously want to try your best to contain negative stories, but I think that so long as Secretary Hegseth has the confidence of the President, they don’t practically matter very much. We’ve seen that with firings from the first administration, like Tom Price or Rex Tillerson, both involved an overt betrayal of some sorts. Process stories also dominated that term because the mainstream media absolutely feasted on the insider pushback career bureaucrats had against an unconventional leader. Newsrooms were actually hiring for once! Who remembers the ridiculous “Anonymous” op-ed from the guy no one ever heard of published breathlessly by The New York Times?
Think about this from President Trump’s perspective: if you were shot at twice, would you really care (putting it politely) about mainstream outlets publishing the same anonymously-sourced reports, particularly from inside probably the most entrenched, opaque bureaucracy in the federal government? No. You’d trust the guy who has your back and not really care about a press corps that despises you anyway. I could be wrong, but I think it would take something pretty big to dislodge him.
POLITICO reported that Elissa Slotkin, the freshman senator from Michigan, said this week that she would road-test a “war plan” to “contain and defeat Donald Trump, admitting that the public views the Democratic Party as “weak and woke” and urging Democrats to “fucking retake the flag.” Is she right?
Alex: I stopped reading the second she said “fuck.” What are the Democrats hoping to achieve with this absurd strategy of swearing their way back into power? Can Americans pay for their groceries —made so expensive by Democrats’ inflationary policies—with all the “fucks” they’re using? Please stop re-adding me to this group chat.
Dan: In honor of every Democrat in the country doing the same thing, I’m going to put forth my own radical plan to reshape the Democratic party:
1. Support popular policies
2. Don’t support unpopular policies
3. Talk a lot about popular policies
4. Don’t talk a lot about unpopular policies
Thank you, thank you. I’m open to fielding speaking opportunities and book deals.
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February 7, 2025 -
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