Gov. Phil Murphy didn't personally single out anybody by name when he lashed out at a "rigged system" on Tuesday.

But the union leaders, political activists and media gathered for Murphy's news conference knew exactly who he was talking about: the state's most powerful unelected Democrat, George E. Norcross III.

"This was a system designed by special interests to benefit special interests,'' Murphy said, citing a newly released report on the state's corporate tax incentives, which took sharp aim at companies and allies linked to Norcross.

The thinly disguised jab was not just routine political rhetoric. It represented a paradigm shift — a moment when a Democratic New Jersey governor decided not to embrace Norcross' deeply entrenched political machine and instead to try to weaken or maybe destroy it.

Other governors routinely scurried to South Jersey to "bend on their knee" to Norcross, as one Murphy associate described it. Democrats Jim McGreevey and Jon Corzine accommodated Norcross, and Republican Gov. Chris Christie openly collaborated with the wily and wealthy insurance executive.

"You have to understand something ... in the end, the McGreeveys, the Corzines, they're all going to be with me. Because they like me, but because they have no choice," Norcross could be heard boasting in 2005 on a recording gathered as part of an aborted state corruption investigation in Burlington County.

But Murphy is making his own bold choice, some observers say, to flex the near-imperial powers granted to the governor's office in the 1947 constitution and to do so without having to bow to a daunting, deeply entrenched political operation. It's an especially risky gambit given that Murphy has so far shown little skill or savvy in the art of political combat.

Murphy has turned to an unlikely, wonky topic to begin his drive against Norcross. The governor called a special task force to investigate the state programs that awarded $11 billion in tax breaks in hopes of luring companies to relocate to New Jersey or remain here.

The panel's 75-page report released this week — after a failed attempt by a phalanx of Norcross-hired lawyers to block it — described how special interests seized control of the Economic Development Authority and steered millions to special interests, with the help of the 2013 law that was shaped in the dark-of-night negotiations. Many benefited companies and entities linked to Norcross and that moved to Camden, the city that Norcross has long championed.

The report said the panel may refer some of its findings to law enforcement authorities. Earlier this year, the panel made a "criminal referral" to law enforcement authorities of an unnamed company, and a state grand jury has already issued subpoenas to Norcross-linked entities. Norcross said he is cooperating with the investigation.

DYSFUNCTION AT SDA: Investigations, criminal allegations and a lawsuit

'HORRIFIED':Murphy 'horrified' by tax break report, continues to push millionaires tax

Norcross, meanwhile, has lashed out at Murphy and the task force as a sham that has smeared his family name. He has vigorously defended the tax incentives, claiming they have been a crucial cog in the city's resurrection.

And he has asked to appear before a legislative committee Monday to defend the program and "lift the cloud of suspicion" that has settled over the companies that settled in Camden.

"Allowing those of us who have been unfairly maligned to detail the truth would only be fair, but more importantly, stopping the misleading attacks and ensuring that decision makers and the public understand what is being done to rebuild Camden is critical to the city’s future,'' Norcross wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday.

"We have been, and continue to be, willing and ready to publicly discuss our application for tax incentives and our decision to move to Camden in any fair and appropriate forum, including the inquiry by the New Jersey attorney general, just as we did with the review by the United States Attorney’s Office several years ago."

To some observers, the fact that Norcross, who prefers to operate behind the scenes, would defend himself in public — and before a Legislature that he had a significant hand in shaping — signals concern that Murphy's assault is beginning to take a toll.

Yet there are plenty in Trenton who doubt whether Murphy has the skill and savvy — and the stomach — to wage all-out political war on Norcross and his allies.

Murphy stalled in office

In his first 18 months in office, Murphy has not shown himself to be an adept political operative in Trenton. The political fight with Norcross has stalled his agenda in the Legislature. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, a childhood friend of Norcross, has blocked scores of Murphy appointments and held up the governor's plan to legalize recreational marijuana.

Murphy has also alienated Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, who is expected to join Sweeney on Thursday in passing a $38.8 billion budget that does not depend on raising taxes on millionaires — a key Murphy promise for more than two years.

Murphy was forced last week to sign a "dark money" reform bill that he originally vetoed rather than face the all-but-certain embarrassment of a veto override, the first in more than 20 years. Norcross spent years grooming and mobilizing a mini-army of allies in the Legislature; Murphy has very few, if any.

The governor has also been hamstrung by scandals within his own administration. Lawmakers issued a damning report this month detailing his administration's mishandling of a sexual assault complaint by a campaign worker. And an investigation by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey of patronage at the Schools Development Authority has raised questions about Murphy's own management of a crucial state agency.

"There is a lack of confidence in leadership, strategy, tactics, ability to convince the Legislature to do what [he] wants them to do,'' said Brigid Harrison, a law professor and political analyst at Montclair State University. "That does not bode well for someone who is leading the charge."

But Murphy supporters argue that the crusade is still in its early stages and that more troubling task force findings could prompt lawmakers to buck the machine and back systemic reforms.

A first test of lawmaker unease could come Thursday, when legislation calling for a six-month extension of the current tax incentive programs is up for a vote in both houses of the Legislature. Murphy has vowed to veto the bill if significant changes to the programs are not included.

"The initial report from the governor’s task force on the EDA raises very troubling questions about accountability, effectiveness and transparency, which must be addressed by the state Legislature,'' said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, a close Sweeney ally.

And Murphy supporters also say this is the start of a long campaign of reform, which will include the mobilizing of grassroots activists, environmentalists and public employee unions, who have served as Murphy's base of support.

"I'm fine with a world where the governor has made a decision to pursue anti-corruption, even if it annoys the Legislature and collides with their worldview of how Trenton works,'' said Sue Altman, director of New Jersey Working Families.

She added, "There is a tipping point coming."