Hirsh Singh

Hirsch Singh is one of five Republicans running for New Jersey governor this year.

(Courtesy of Hirsh Singh)

TRENTON -- Hirsh Singh, a little-known Republican candidate for New Jersey governor, is suing the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission, arguing that he deserves a spot in a pair of televised GOP primary debates next month even though he missed a key filing deadline.

Singh, a 32-year-old aerospace engineer from Atlantic County who has never run for public office, claims he has raised more than $900,000 in the race, according to a legal brief filed Wednesday in state Superior Court in Trenton.

That is more than double the amount hopefuls are required to have in their campaign coffers to participate in the debates, sponsored by ELEC, the state's election watchdog agency. There was no way to verify Singh's total Wednesday.

Candidates who raised more than $430,000 by April 3 qualified for the state's matching funds program -- in which gubernatorial candidates receive $2 in public money for every $1 they raise. They are then required to participate in the debates.

Contenders who do not take matching funds may take part in the debates if they show they have at least $430,000 in campaign cash, either through self-funding or fundraising. The deadline to file that paperwork was April 3, as well.

Singh admits he missed that deadline. But in the legal brief, Stephen Edelstein, Singh's attorney, called that an "innocent mistake of a first-time candidate."

Edelstein added that it's "well-established that New Jersey's election laws are to be construed liberally, and that the time limitations set forth in the statutes may be relaxed where the public interest warrants."

"The voters should not be denied the opportunity to hear our message in the official debates of the Republican primary," Singh, a Lindwood resident, said in a statement.

A spokesman for ELEC declined to comment Wednesday.

Singh also argues that the $900,000 he's raised shows his campaign "has the resources we need to compete with the other candidates in the race, to get our message out, and to defeat Phil Murphy in November."

Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and millionaire former banking executive who has lent his campaign at least $10 million, is considered the Democratic front-runner in the race.

Six of the 11 major-party candidates in the race qualified for ELEC's primary debates.

That includes two Republicans whom Singh would join in the debates if he prevails in his lawsuit: state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli of Somerset County and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

Four Democrats qualified: Murphy, former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak of Union County, and state Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Middlesex County.

Murphy is refusing matching funds but participating in the debates. Lesniak did not qualify for matching funds but lent campaign more than $200,000 to take part in the debates.

There are two Democratic primary debates and two Republican primary debates.

The first debates -- one for the Democrats and one for the Republicans -- will be held May 9 at Stockton University in Galloway in Atlantic County.

The second Democratic debate is May 11 at NJTV's studios in Newark. The second Republican debate will be held May 18 at the same studios.

Two other Democratic candidates -- Bergen County activist Bill Brennan and Tenafly Council President Mark Zinna -- did not qualify for the debates. Two other Republican contenders -- Nutley Township Commissioner Steven Rogers and Ocean County businessman Joseph Rullo -- failed to do so.

But Zinna's campaign wrote to ELEC and Stockton last week calling for Zinna and Brennan to be allowed to take part, saying the system is "effectively disenfranchising" their supporters because of the money treshhold.

"This is institutionalized pay-to-play, and has no place in a modern democratic process," Pelle Jorgensen, Zinna's campaign manager, wrote.

Rogers asking his fellow candidates who did not qualify to schedule their own debates.

"Elections should be about ideas and a vision for all of the people, not just for those who have money," Rogers said in a statement last week.

All the candidates are seeking to succeed Gov. Chris Christie, a term-limited Republican who is in his final year.

The primaries for the Democratic and Republican nominations are June 6.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.