Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

Earlier this year, Americans watched as the Democratic Party’s chosen candidate was suddenly drawn into a dogfight with an upstart populist.

And there's a good chance the primary election for New Jersey's next governor could be a repeat.

The 2017 Democratic gubernatorial primary has begun to parallel the 2016 presidential primary, which pitted eventual nominee Hillary Clinton against the grassroots campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Tied to Clinton was Middletown resident Phil Murphy, a retired Goldman Sachs banking executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany, who spent much of the fall locking up support from state Democratic leaders and driving off the party’s supposed frontrunners.

The only established candidate willing to run against Murphy? Assemblyman John Wisniewski, of Sayreville, an attorney and 20-year legislator and one of the few prominent Democrats to endorse Sanders.

EDITORIAL: Murphy gets a challenger

In an election season with only two gubernatorial elections, the 2017 gubernatorial primary could “wind up being a proxy year,” Montclair State University professor Brigid Harrison said.

“This race is kind of emblematic of the internal struggle of the national Democratic Party,” Harrison said. “You have an entire Democratic constituency that is disaffected and perhaps even more mobilized.”

Dueling Democrats

Despite never running for elected office, Murphy, 59, has been backed by both state Democrats and members of the Democratic National Committee, for which he once served as treasurer.

At this year's national convention, he secured endorsements from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a one-time DNC chairman.

Murphy’s career and experience gives him the ability to eschew special interests in New Jersey, campaign spokesman Derek Roseman said.

“Phil Murphy is someone who is coming to government with a fresh set of views and a real vision for where the state goes and as someone who doesn’t owe the insiders anything,” he said.

FLASHBACK: Murphy talks to NJ Dems at DNC

But he's not without scandal. Murphy has seen various messages released through WikiLeaks, including diplomatic cables in which he referred to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as "insecure" and a 2014 email to Clinton campaign chairman in which Murphy outlined his intention to start a nonprofit in order to boost name recognition for a gubernatorial run.

Wisniewski, 54, has willingly cast himself as a Sanders surrogate after chairing the senator’s primary campaign in New Jersey. He has served in the Assembly since 1995 and chaired the state Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013.

“Our economy rewards those at the very top but fails to provide good wages for the middle and working class,” Wisniewski told supporters in Sayreville on Nov. 29, his first campaign event.

MORE: Will Sanders help Wisniewski become governor?

But “Berniecrats” in New Jersey have disputed Wisniewski’s role in the Sanders campaign. After Clinton won the primary in a landslide, some accused him of running a weak organization effort, instead using the Sanders campaign as leverage for his gubernatorial run.

“John Wisniewski appeared to take part in the Bernie Sanders movement exclusively for his own gain,” former congressional candidate Alex Law wrote in a Facebook post. “He only participated in Bernie Sanders events that allowed him to speak and build his own name recognition, giving no time to what should have been the backbone: volunteer-driven organizing.”

Here comes the money

According to campaign filings, Murphy has collected more than $5 million in donations from lawyers, finance executives and a few Democratic powerbrokers, including U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and Clay Constantinou, a Colts Neck resident who served as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg during the Clinton administration.

But the biggest donor to the Murphy campaign? Phil Murphy himself, in the form of a $10 million loan.

Murphy’s wealth gives him an advantage over Wisniewski, Harrison said. But it could be his downfall, in a year where Clinton’s personal wealth became a hot-button issue during the campaign.

MORE: Companies used Clinton Foundation to lobby State Dept.

“In this kind of moment in our political culture, being a multimillionaire who walks onto the political scene and seeks to essentially buy elected office may not be seen as positively as it would have been a year ago in New Jersey,” Harrison said. “There’s a bit of risk associated with Murphy’s narrative.”

The last governor to enter politics from Wall Street was Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs. And while he was able to almost entirely self-fund his Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, his wide unpopularity near the end of his single term cost him the race against Christie in 2009.

Where Murphy has money, Wisniewski has a reputation, Harrison said: He led the panel that investigated Bridgegate, reportedly the first outside person to read the infamous “time for some traffic problems” email.

MORE: Christie repentant, lays Bridgegate blame on aide

Christie "abused his legal authority to play politics, gridlocking the world’s busiest bridge — and probably lying about his involvement,” Wisniewski said.

Since first announcing his exploratory committee, Wisniewski has taken more than a few thinly veiled shots at Murphy’s Goldman Sachs career.

“I don’t come from Wall Street and have not spent a career in reckless speculation or outsourcing jobs,” he said last week. “My roots are on Main Street, the main streets of New Jersey, where working and middle-class families just want a fair shot."

Murphy has disputed the association with Corzine, once comparing the situation to two different baseball players who played for the same team. Roseman argued that Wisniewski is more entrenched than Murphy.

“The reality is that the only insider in this race is John Wisniewski, a 21-year insider of Trenton who has used his public office to enrich himself,” Roseman said.

The stigma of "Trenton politician" is "baggage" that Wisniewski may need to fight against, Harrison said.

“I don’t think that’s a positive moniker and it’s something he needs to translate into a positive set of attributes,” Harrison said. “But despite the fact that Wisniewski was part of the establishment, that’s a lot different from being a Goldman Sachs guy.”



Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com