Democrat Phil Murphy Faces Scorn For Buying Favor In New Jersey Governor’s Race

New Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy is facing scorn and criticism for his attempts to buy the Democrat gubernatorial nomination, the Associated Press reports. Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs Executive, has been endorsed by numerous elected officials to whom he has been a financial contributor, leading a top Democrat in New Jersey to conclude that Murphy is attempting to “rig this election with his Goldman Sachs wealth.”

Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison also criticized Murphy’s attempt to buy the nomination, nothing that, “to me it smacks of a candidate buying the nomination. I would caution that we’ve been down this road before in the form of Jon Corzine…”

The Associated Press reports:

A top Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor helped cement his status through hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to local parties, earning key establishment support along the way.

Since early 2015, Democratic candidate Phil Murphy contributed to most of the state’s county Democratic parties, as well as the Democratic State Committee, totaling about $250,000, according to Election Law Enforcement Commission records analyzed by The Associated Press.

Murphy has since won endorsements from county party chairpersons, key unions and the state’s two U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Bob Menendez…

But his deep pockets — he has loaned his campaign about $10 million — are also giving the state’s former Sanders campaign chairman, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, fodder for attacks. It’s emerging as a theme in the Democratic primary, with Wisniewski taking up the populist battle cry Sanders used against his primary opponent Hillary Clinton, calling for voters to stem the effort to “coronate” Murphy.

“Our opponent continues to try and rig this election with his Goldman Sachs wealth,” Wisniewski said in a recent fundraising pitch, referring to Murphy’s former employer. Murphy worked as an executive at Goldman Sachs, leaving in 2006.

To his opponents and experts, Murphy is pouring cash into the contest to influence the outcome.

“To me it smacks of a candidate buying the nomination. That is certainly his prerogative. I would caution that we’ve been down this road before in the form of Jon Corzine,” said Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison.