New Jersey Republicans have a real chance to pick up at least three Senate seats and a few Assembly seats this November; even if neither chamber of the legislature changes partisan hands, newly-narrowed margins in both chambers (e.g. a 22-18 Senate) would bring Governor Murphy’s far-Left agenda grinding to a halt for the final two years of his second term.
Murphy himself apparently understands the peril.
“I have this feeling of Trump 2016, which is not a good feeling,” Politico reports Murphy warning fellow Democrats at an East Brunswick gathering.
“I feel really uneasy. I’m not saying this to be a downer. I’m saying this to make the simple point that we need to lay it all out,” Murphy continued. “There’s no governor’s race. There’s no senators’ race. Members of the House of Representatives are not on the ballot. This is nakedly our entire Legislature…I’m begging you, please, please, God, don’t take anything for granted.”
Democrats face their biggest challenges in South Jersey where LD4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester) appears primed to flip from Democrat to Republican control thanks to a more favorable redistricting map and a Democrat retirement at the top of the ticket. Republicans are also hoping to win Senate races in LD11 and LD12, and there are a handful of other districts (notably LD16 and LD38) where the NJGOP believes a strong “Murphy Midterm” could produce upset victories.
