Murphy May Be Unopposed In Primary As 2 Tossed From Race

NEW JERSEY - Two individuals who filed to run against Gov. Phil Murphy in the Democratic primary election this year have been tossed from the race, with state officials now calling to investigate at least one of the would-be candidates for fraud.

The decisions to bar perennial candidates Lisa McCormick and Roger Bacon could mean Murphy may run unopposed in the upcoming primary race.

All 1,951 petition signatures submitted by McCormick, who filed as a Democrat, were found to be completed through a computer program, with the names of individuals reportedly filed without their consent, according to an initial decision filed Tuesday by Judge Jeffery N. Rabin.

Prosecutors noted that the signatures stemmed from a mail-merge of an old voter database, including instances of signatures signed by “First Name Middle Name Last Name” and “Jose8.” At least two signatures filed by McCormick also reportedly came from voters who died before the date indicated on the signatures.

“Even without expert testimony, it appeared to the layman’s eye as if respondent McCormick had, at the last minute, simply created a template for completing individual single signature petition forms, and merely inserted the names and addresses of miscellaneous registered Democrats into the forms,” Judge Jeffrey N. Rabin wrote in his ruling. “Not only did McCormick — and for that matter, Devine) — fail to respond to petitioner’s accusations, she failed to offer any affirmative proof that she had solicited and received valid signatures from registered voters who wished to support her candidacy.”

Rabin filed the initial decision with the New Jersey Secretary of Sate Tahesha Way, who is authorized to make a final decision in the matter. Way adopted the initial decision rejecting McCormick's petition as well as ordered the matter to be delivered to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General for a fraud investigation.

It’s unclear whether McCormick will appeal the ruling. However, according to a Tuesday post on her website, McCormick urged her supporters to write her name on their ballots.

“I have been seeking some other progressive Democrat to take on this challenge for a long time, but I filed petitions because I could not find anyone willing to take on the task,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, my name will not be on the ballot but that won’t distract me from speaking out.”

McCormick has previously filed to run for Legislature, Congress and U.S. Senate, billing herself as a progressive candidate. In 2018, she won 38 percent of votes in the primary race against Sen. Bob Menendez.

Another judge ruled that a third individual who filed to run on the Democratic ticket, Bacon, will also be disqualified from the primary race. In another Tuesday ruling, a judge found that 305 signatures out of around 1,300 submitted by Bacon were invalid.

“Roger Bacon garnered fewer than the requisite 1,000 signatures on his nominating petitions,” the judge wrote in the ruling. “Bacon’s petition to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of the State of New Jersey during the primary election in New Jersey fails, and his name may not be placed on the statewide Democratic primary election ballot.”

The signatures submitted by Bacon also consisted of unregistered voters, registered voters affiliated with the Republican Party and other errors, the ruling stated.

NorthJersey.com reports that Bacon plans to run as an Independent in the general election. Murphy would be the first governor since 1997 to run unopposed by their own party should Bacon or McCormick fail to get on the ballot, the publication wrote.

The primary race will be held on June 8, 2021.