New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said it is time for Democrats to reflect after Vice President Harris lost key counties in the friendly state in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“It’s time to look in the mirror and see if we need to change who we are or how we communicate what we stand for,” Murphy said Wednesday.
The Democratic governor said New Jersey is not a swing state. He said the topics of the White House race will be about the economy, “kitchen issues,” immigration and “probably crime and public safety.”
Harris won New Jersey by about 5 points, an underperformance compared to President Biden, who won the Garden State by 16 points in 2020. New Jersey residents have seen many counties shift in President-elect Trump’s direction. Arab American population.
Trump has made slight gains in other Democratic strongholds such as New York, Massachusetts and Maryland, and has so far won six of the seven swing states, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ. Arizona hasn’t been called yet.
Trump, who lost the popular vote in both 2016 and 2020, is currently on pace to win this election cycle.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday criticized Democrats for ignoring the working class, claiming that was the biggest reason they lost the Oval Office and the Senate.
“It is no surprise that the Democratic Party, which has abandoned working-class people, will learn that the working class has also abandoned them,” Sanders said in a statement.
“Democratic leadership defends the status quo, while the American people are angry and want change. And they are right,” he added.
