Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is expected to announce today that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017. Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

(Jersey Journal file photo)

-- Mayor Steve Fulop will announce this afternoon that he won't seek the Democratic nomination for governor next year, sources tell The Jersey Journal.

The sources also say Fulop will throw his support behind Phil Murphy, an ex-Goldman Sachs executive and former

U.S.

ambassador who

.

Fulop backing out of what is expected to be a crowded governor's race would be a stunning development, coming after the mayor spent years seeking support for a statewide run. Even some of the mayor's closest allies were left in the dark about the decision, sources say.

"They kept a lid on it," one told The Jersey Journal.

The news comes as Fulop is preparing to testify in the so-called Bridgegate trial. Prosecutors allege Fulop was one of the Democratic mayors targeted after he declined to endorse Gov. Chris Christie's re-election bid.

Fulop's spokeswoman said earlier today that the mayor would appear outside City Hall at 2 p.m. to make "an important announcement regarding the 2017 elections." She declined to comment further.

Fulop did not appear at an 11 a.m. groundbreaking he was scheduled to attend.

A request for comment from Murphy's campaign was not immediately returned.

Fulop not running for governor would be a blow to Hudson County Democrats who were hoping to have a friend in Trenton in 2018. It would also have the potential to transform the 2017 Jersey City mayoral and City Council races, leading Fulop allies who had intended to seek the mayoralty to reconsider their plans if Fulop runs for re-election.

Fulop taking himself out of contention would obviously be good news for Murphy. Murphy and Fulop have been jockeying for the support of the same North Jersey power brokers and liberal voters.

Fulop, 39, was first elected mayor in 2013 after serving for two terms as a councilman. His name began being thrown around as a potential gubernatorial candidate almost immediately after his mayoral victory. Local critics have grumbled that the mayor has spent much of his term distracted by his quest for support for a gubernatorial bid. The last two Saturdays Fulop hosted barbecues in Paramus and Freehold to talk to Democratic voters there.

Matthew Hale, who teaches political science at Seton Hall University, called Fulop's news "a holy crap moment." Fulop's resume and personality made some political observers believe at one time that he had a lock on the nomination, Hale said.

"That he didn't even make it to the starting line is kind of a shock," he said.

Hale's comments led to this retort from state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, who is also believed to be mulling a 2017 gubernatorial run: "Only those who don't know what's going on in N.J. politics thought Fulop had a lock on the nomination."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.