Phil Murphy on disappointing results in 2024: ‘Everyone needs to look in the mirror’

In the wake of a 2024 general election in which Republicans made shocking gains in New Jersey, with Vice President Kamala Harris winning the state only 52% to 47% against President-elect Donald Trump, the New Jersey Globe spoke with Governor Phil Murphy about the reasons behind the disappointing results , and what Democrats can learn for the coming years. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

New Jersey Globe: What is your first reaction to this election, and specifically to surprising pro-Republican results we saw in New Jersey?

Govt. Phil Murphy: We were not unique. Harris underperformed Biden 2020 by between 10 and 12 points in a bunch of big blue states, almost identically. I know on that list, apart from New Jersey, at least New York, Illinois, Maryland and California. It’s not unique, and the reason I can say it’s not unique is, with the exception of Sue Altman and a few county races, we did really well in the down-ballot, including where Trump won. Trump won Passaic County; we swept three commissioner races and one sheriff race to pick an example. So it’s a mixed bag.

And I think as far as the top of the ticket, it’s probably a combination of: the kitchen table—it’s the economy, stupid—the immigration fear that goes into it; security, crime, Trump is brilliant at all of these; Harris’ short runway to introduce himself, only since July 21; and an inability to even elicit a few things that she would have done differently than President Biden, whose numbers are not good, despite my opinion that he is a very consequential president. So it’s a combination of a lot of different things, none of it is really unique to New Jersey, but it’s all real.

I’ve looked specifically at numbers in heavily Hispanic areas, like Hudson County and Passaic County, and it’s clear that Trump did exceptionally well in those communities. What do you think about it?

It is first and foremost a fact. Second, some of these communities were already with him and the Republican Party forever and ever; the Cubans would be high on that list. But he extended it to a rather impressive result. I think it’s a combination of the things I just said. Shame on us as a party if we take any community for granted. The Latino community is screaming out to not be taken for granted and to be heard, and I think ultimately that is the economy, stupid. There are real kitchen table fears and concerns that the ticket didn’t address, quite clearly. And we better be sober about it, accept it and figure out what to do about it. The one thing I don’t know for sure: was it the messenger? Was that the substance of what they stood for? Was it the message? It is probably a bit of all of the above. But I can tell you this: it’s real.

It will be four years until the next presidential election, but New Jersey holds elections every year; there will be many more chances for Democrats to either gain or lose ground with these communities again in 2025 and 2026. How do you feel about those years? Do you think the Democrats have the ability to win back some of these voters?

One hundred percent. Whether we do or not, time will tell. But we have a good story. I know what our administration has done: We’ve done a ton, and I’d ride that record any day of the week. I am an optimist. I believe we can bring people home. Not to mention the fact that if Trump does a fraction of the things that he claims he will do, even if we don’t do a good job of bringing them home, they will be afraid home – that’s my fear. But again, time will tell. We have to perform. You can’t just say it and assume it’s going to happen. You actually have to earn it. And I am convinced that we can.

As for your own governorship, how do you think that will affect what you do and what New Jersey is capable of having a Trump presidency for the next year?

To be determined. I’m probably one of the last governors who already had three years with Donald Trump. So we know what that playbook looks like: it tries to balance what are opposite impulses applied situationally. If we are attacked, if our interests are attacked, our values ​​are attacked, members of our society are attacked, we will fight back fiercely using every weapon available: legal, bully pulpit, legislation, executive order, you name it. If, on the other hand – both of these can be true, we know it can be true because we did it – if there is common ground to be found, we will be incredibly aggressive in trying to find that common ground. Look at the Portal North Bridge, which was greenlit by President Trump; it’s a huge deal for commuters. It should be finished next year. Look at the first months of Covid, where we worked, in the midst of tragedy, so well with his administration. So it will be a combination. I think there will be a lot of what we do that will be untouched; at least I hope so. And there will be some things that will be difficult. For example, offshore wind will be difficult. So we’ll see. I can tell you this: we are not starting our senior year, on January 20th, flat-footed.

You mentioned a couple of potential criticisms of the Harris campaign: Democrats didn’t distance themselves enough from Biden, and Democrats didn’t connect enough with economic issues. Looking specifically at the New Jersey Democrats, do you think there’s any part of the state party’s and the local party’s messaging that needs to change to be more successful in the future?

I think if you’re a Democrat in America today, November 6, 2024, whether you’re in New Jersey or wherever you are, if you’re not sober, look in the mirror, be cold-bloodedly honest with yourself – what did I do right or wrong? How did I say it right or wrong? what should I have focused on, right or wrong? – you live in fantasyland. Everyone needs to look in the mirror, including yours truly. And I suppose we will. We’ve always done a good job of that in Jersey as a party and I see no reason why we won’t be here.

When you look in the mirror, is there anything you would have done differently?

That’s a good question. I’m failing the test I just gave Kamala Harris. Look, I went on the road—New Hampshire, Pennsylvania—we did a lot of Zooms in other places, my wife and I raised a ton of money, we contributed thoughts to their team about politics. But there must be something more that all of us, every one of us, should have, could have done.

You mentioned fundraising – the Democrats had big fundraising advantages in many congressional races and in the presidential race, and maybe that didn’t get them that much. Do you think the era where large influxes of money into politics can win races is over?

It’s not over, but it’s a good reminder that money isn’t everything. You never want to unilaterally disarm yourself. Citizens United remains a terrible Supreme Court decision with enormous ramifications, but that’s not why we lost. As you rightly point out, we had a lot of money to work with.

In the 7th District specifically, the Democrats raised a lot of money there; it was seen as a very competitive race. Tom Kean Jr. ended up beat Sue Altman by a fair margin. Why do you think that was? And what do you think is the way forward in that district?

She ran a very good race. Here’s my takeaway: you can’t win that district if the top of the ticket underperforms by a dozen points compared to last time. If Kamala is competitive in that district, I think Sue wins, or at least she is competitive. But she was pulled down in a way that was impossible for her to win. The answer going forward is that if you had a high-performing top of the ticket, it’s not as Democratic as it used to be, but it’s still a winnable district. Not easy, but winnable.

And do you think Democrats even need to worry about any of the districts they won by surprisingly narrow margins, like Nellie Pou’s district?

I think if you don’t reflect on what happened yesterday – even if you won – you’re kidding yourself. Everyone should watch it. Every district that we won or lost, you have to ask yourself, did I execute? Did we have the right team in the field? Whatever the question should be.