SAYREVILLE -- State Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who rose to prominence in Trenton as a leader of the legislative investigation of the Bridgegate scandal that bedeviled Gov. Chris Christie, will not succeed him as governor.

The veteran Democratic lawmaker from Sayreville fell short in his bid to run in the general election. Instead, his biggest challenger, former Goldman Sachs banking executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, grabbed the party's nomination in Tuesday night's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

But Wisniewski, who is stepping down from his spot in the state Legislature, told supporters gathered Tuesday he wasn't giving up the fight.

"I will continue to be an advocate for things like single-payer healthcare, raising the minimum wage, making sure we protect the environment by getting back in the regional green house gas initiative, fully funding education," he said in Sayreville. "These are things that are important to me at my core."

Wisniewski's rise in Trenton was propelled by the legislative inquiry into Bridgegate a few years ago. But the 54-year-old attorney once again made headlines last year when he broke with the state's Democratic leaders to be a chair for presidential contender Bernie Sanders rather than Hillary Clinton.

Many compared Wisniewski's bid against Murphy to the 2016 presidential primary matchup between party favorite Hillary Clinton and self-described outsider Bernie Sanders. Wisniewski touted Sanders-style platforms such as free college tuition to families earning $125,000 or less a year and creating a single-payer health care system.

Wisniewski, along with the other Democratic gubernatorial candidates, took to attacking Murphy's experience at Goldman Sachs during the campaign. In his first television ad, Wisniewski jabbed Murphy by stating "I'm not a Wall Street executive."

Although Sanders never endorsed Wisniewski, he released a January statement saying the Democratic candidate "would make an excellent governor for New Jersey."

Wisniewski's ties to Sanders were what spurred many volunteers making calls at his Sayreville headquarters to join his campaign.

Rutgers Preparatory School senior Leah Soman got involved in May after Wisniewski spoke at a career night at her school and she heard about his leadership within the Sanders campaign in New Jersey.

"I'm a huge Bernie supporter and I was devastated by the results of the election," Soman said.

Still, some Wisniewski backers gathered at his headquarters blamed the Vermont senator for not giving the assemblyman a full-throated endorsement. Others expressed reluctance to vote for Murphy come November.

Bloomfield resident Alan McConas, who started volunteering after Trump's November victory, said he will vote for the Green Party candidate Seth Kaper-Dale instead of Murphy. He drew connections between Murphy and Jon Corzine, the ex-New Jersey governor and former Goldman Sachs executive.

"(Murphy) has direct experience with Goldman Sachs and I think they are the scum of the Earth," McConas said. "He doesn't have the political experience... we need someone who knows how the system is supposed to work."

But Wisniewski said Tuesday night that the primary "wasn't about Bernie Sanders."

"This election was about New Jersey," he said, adding that his campaign was "overwhelmed" by the millions the wealthy Murphy pumped into his own campaing.

"It was one of the core issues we need to look at long term," he said. "Keeping that kind of excessive money out of the political process because it drowns out voices, it stifles competition, and voters deserve to hear these voices equally, not to hear them disproportionately."