Hirsh Singh’s attorney admits Singh did not file paperwork with ELEC by the deadline, saying in a court brief it was an “innocent mistake of a first-time candidate.” | Facebook GOP gubernatorial candidate Hirsh Singh sues to take part in debates

Hirsh Singh, a young and little-known Republican candidate for governor who claims to have more than $900,000 in campaign cash, is suing the New Jersey State Election Law Enforcement Commission, demanding to participate in next month’s two Republican gubernatorial primary debates the agency sponsors.

"As I've said all along, our 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," Singh, a 32-year-old engineer from Atlantic County, said in a statement.


Candidates who receive two-for-one matching funds from the state are required to participate in the debates. Singh is not taking matching funds, which candidates qualified for by raising at least $430,000 from donors by April 3.

Candidates who do not take matching funds may participate in the debates if they show they’ve raised at least $430,000 — whether self-funded or from donors — by the same April 3 deadline. Singh’s attorney, Stephen Edelstein, admits Singh did not file paperwork with ELEC by that deadline, saying in a court brief it was an “innocent mistake of a first-time candidate.”

Edelstein wrote to Superior County Judge Mary Jacobson in Mercer County that it is “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 Singh campaign did not disclose the source of his $900,000 in campaign funds in the court filings or in response to an inquiry from POLITICO.

Other candidates for governor who are not taking matching funds did qualify for the debates.

Murphy, the Democratic front-runner, has so far largely self-funded his campaign with at least a $10 million donation. Democratic state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, unable to raise enough to qualify for matching funds, wrote a check to his campaign for more than $200,000 to participate in the debate.

The only two candidates who qualified for the Republican primary debate are Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, both of whom are receiving matching funds.

The first gubernatorial primary debates will be held May 9 at Stockton University in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, where the Democratic and Republican debates will be held back-to-back. A second Democratic debate will be held May 11 at NJTV’s studios in Newark, followed by a second Republican debate at the same venue on May 18.

A spokesman for ELEC declined to comment.