Murphy calls Runyan another Lynn Swann

By Matt Friedman | December 30th, 2009 - 2:22pm
| More

Regardless of whether the Burlington and Ocean County Republican organizations go to war in the 3rd Congressional district, there will be a primary.

Justin Murphy, a former committeeman from Tabernacle Township in Burlington County who had a surprisingly strong showing in the 2008 primary, says he will definitely run again.  And he’s not cowed by Jon Runyan, the football star who the Burlington County GOP has recruited and already rolled out to seek the party nod to challenge U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill).

“Two words come to mind: Lynn Swann,” said Murphy, referring to the football hall-of-famer who ran as a Republican against Democrat Ed Rendell in the 2006 Pennsylvania governor’s race.  He wound up losing by 20 points.

“He was a good looking candidate, gave a good first impression, had some money, but was a disaster. That was an embarrassing double digit loss for the Republicans,” said Murphy.

Right now, Murphy and Runyan are the only declared Republican candidates in the 3rd Congressional District.  It remains to be seen whether the powerful Ocean County Republicans – buoyed by producing a 70,000 vote plurality for Gov.-elect Christopher Christie on Election Day – will run a candidate, although Toms River Councilman Maurice “Mo” Hill is seeking their support and says he will run if he gets it. 

That support hinges almost entirely on county Republican Chairman George Gilmore. 

But Murphy’s single point finish behind Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly last year – despite spending less than $9,000 -- was based largely on the strength of an anti-Gilmore, anti-organization group of Republicans called the Traditional Republicans of Ocean County (TROOC).  The group included Murphy on its full slate of county candidates who ran with Senate candidate Murray Sabrin at the top of the ticket.  In Ocean County, Murphy cut into Kelly’s margin of victory, getting 30% of the vote and keeping Kelly to only 44%, allowing the eventual winner, Chris Myers, to bury Kelly in Burlington County. 

The TROOC’s showing last June was not as strong, owing to Christie heading the establishment party’s ticket, according to the group’s chairman, Joseph Haelig.

Haelig said that he does not know whether his group will support Murphy again, since it’s unclear exactly who is running.

“It’s still up in the air.  Until that becomes clear, who knows what’s going to happen?” he said.

In case Ocean County does not field a candidate and Runyan becomes the establishment-backed favorite, Murphy thinks being pro-choice will bring the former Eagles tackle down.

“If the scenario unfolds where Jon Runyan faces Justin Murphy for the nomination, I can guarantee you I will be the nominee,” said Murphy.  “I’m not trying to be a trash talker on that. I can tell you why in one word: abortion.  If there is a choice between one pro-choice candidate and one pro-life candidate in this election, the base of the party will support me.”

Burlington County GOP Chairman Bill Layton argued that the abortion issue won’t be a deal breaker with Republican primary voters.

“I think people are concerned about jobs, getting back to work and taxes.   The pro-life thing does play in primaries, but Jon Runyan is not for federal funding of abortions.  He’s a pro-choice candidate, but with a lot of restrictions,” he said.

As for Murphy’s strong showing last time around? 

“I think what happened was Justin kind of got a free ride. He got hooked up with TROOC.  He was able to capitalize on that, and if you notice his numbers in Burlington County, he was nowhere,” said Layton.

TROOC is DOA

The Traditional Republicans of Ocean County are dead on arival in Ocean County. In the last primary election they had their heads handed to them. Joseph Haelig is a disgruntled fosil leading a band of misfits and ne'er-do-well's that has passed what little prime it had. TROOC will have zero or little influence over the next primary in Ocean County. The only thing TROOC ever accomplished was helping to cause our congressional district to fall to the Democrats. As for Murphy, he is an itch that got scratched already. He will have no influence in this years elections.

TROOC

If TROOC is in the game, they will blow Kelly and Lacey out of the water. This primary will become all about two of the worst freeholders in the state of New Jersey!

"Joseph Haelig is a

"Joseph Haelig is a disgruntled fosil leading a band of misfits and ne'er-do-well's that has passed what little prime it had."

Tell that do Carl Block.

Murphy

Nice kid but in way over his head. I love how he talks in the third person. Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode with Jimmy. "Justin is mad at you George!" LMAO. He is a lightweight with no backing.

trooc not dead

actor90. you are in for a suprise .

TROOC is DOA

"TROOC will have zero or little influence over
the next primary in Ocean County"

"The only thing TROOC ever accomplished was helping to cause our congressional district to fall to the Democrats."

If TROOC has "zero or little influence" how could they be powerful enough to "cause our congressional district to fall"????

Besides politics loves misfits and ne'er-do-wells at least in my day

Tom Jefferson

tom jefferson...

Tom i thought you were dead . Glad to see your not...

TROOC is Far from Dead

If you have been a regular reader of TROOC this year, then you are one of more than 5,000 hits on the site since December. Each week, as the 2010 GOP primary campaign rolls on, I click onto the site and marvel at the sharp, insightful and provocative content. TROOC DOA? you ain't seen nuthin' yet!

Wake-Up Call

Morning News Digest: July 30, 2010

Follow PolitickerNJ updates on Twitter and on Facebook Task force begins look at prosecutors A task force examining an Essex-backed bill usurping county crime prosecution duties and throwing them to the state kicked off their study today. Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, a Democrat whose longtime friendship...

The Back Room

Trenton makes the world takes

Check out the familiar face gracing the cover of the most recent copy of The National Review.

Read More >

Op-Ed

Starting the Dialogue of Shared Services in Passaic County

Sharing services between local communities is an obvious and pragmatic approach to stabilizing our taxes and maintaining a high level of municipal services our residents have come to expect.  As a result of decreasing tax revenues, a new... Read More >

Contributors

State Pension Reality Check - Numbers matter.  Poll results, budget deficits, health statistics.  Attach a number to any issue and it becomes reality.  But sometimes a reality... more »
The Americans with Disabilities Act at 20 -- Our country is observing a significant milestone this week – one that has literally transformed the lives of millions of Americans... more »
It’s easy to criticize a bold and decisive plan to change the status quo, even when the status quo isn’t getting the job done.  But, the alternative—staying the course—is... more »
David Twersky, Rest in Peace, My Dear Friend   Today on the Jewish calendar is Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av on which we Jews fast... more »
How many times can a Tea Partier take a  bus to DC without getting frustrated to the point of throwing in the... more »
Governor Christie’s proposal to submit a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes at 2.5 percent to the voters is a classic example of “doing the wrong thing for the... more »
 7.2.10----Now you may have thought that the only people from Their Side who say wacky things are Sarah Palin and Glen Beck, But nooooo. Here are others---What Their Side... more »
The enactment of the State’s annual budget this week was the end product of a remarkable and historic mastery of state policy, politics, and the legislative process by Governor... more »
The New Jersey state budget is in perpetual crisis.  Every year the governor and the legislature engage in the June 30th soap opera:  Will a budget be... more »
Members of the Legislature and fellow citizens and taxpayers: Earlier this week, I signed into law the budget for Fiscal Year 2011.  I thank you for your cooperation and... more »
There are more opinions in New Jersey than proposals for dealing with our soaring property taxes. People will differ on the proper formula for state ... more »
New Jersey businesses – both large and small – are facing daunting obstacles during the current economic climate that has slowed down, and in many cases stopped... more »

Resources

Visit the PolitickerNJ.com/resources page for links to the best collection of information on New Jersey state government.

 

  • Polls
  • The best blogs
  • Columnists
  • State election results
  • Assembly election results
  • Local party websites
  • And more.

PolitickerNJ.com/resources