NEWARK -- Add Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciatarelli to the list of gubernatorial candidates saying they'd like to stop the $300 million bond sale rushed to market by Gov. Chris Christie's administration to renovate the Statehouse.

Murphy, the Democratic front-runner, expressed outrage at how the bonds were sold and said he's looking into how next governor could block it.

Republican Ciatarelli, an Assemblyman from Somerset County, said he's joined a lawsuit by other lawmakers alleging the project's funding is unconstitutional because it bypassed getting input from the Legislature and public.

"We were, like everybody, outraged," said Murphy, speaking outside Newark's Penn Station, where he'd just received the endorsement of ten New Jersey locals of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represent employees of NJ Transit's bus and light rail operations.

"New Jersey cannot afford another penny of debt," said Ciattarelli on Thursday.

Ciattarelli announced he has joined the lawsuit filed on Monday by state Sens. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset) and Mike Doherty (R-Warren).

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), has filed a separate lawsuit to block the bond-financed Statehouse renovation.

Democrats Lesniak and Wisniewski are also candidates for governor. Republican candidate Kim Guadagno, who is Christie's lieutenant governor, has sharply criticized the project.

In recent legislative hearings, state Treasurer Ford Scudder testified the $300 million in bonds needed to finance the project could end up costing Garden State taxpayers as much as $750 million in interest and fees.

Christie: 'Nothing left to say' about Trenton statehouse renovation

Murphy blasted the bond sales made on May 11 -- the same day the state's Economic Development Authority approved the financing plan -- as being done "under the cover of night, with no transparency."

While he didn't question that the Statehouse, one of the oldest in the nation, needs renovation, Murphy cautioned said: "We got a lot of mouths to feed...I'm not sure that's at the top of the list, with all due respect."

Rather than selling bonds, Murphy suggested that a public-private partnership run through a foundation would be "the better way to go at it, rather than just money that the state's going to be on the hook for."

It's unclear how the candidates could cancel the sale at this point. A hearing has been set for the lawsuits, which the Christie administration contends is now moot. The next governor doesn't take office until January 2018, and construction is slated to begin this summer.

Christie on Wednesday said "there's nothing left to say" about the renovation.

Asked if he had ever seen a sale of bonds canceled after the fact, Murphy acknowledged that he had "never been around something like this" in his more than 21 years at Goldman Sachs, but would seek to block it anyway.

"I'm not a lawyer, but we're looking at it right now," he said.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.