New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Sunday played down a recent report that he may be weighing a 2024 presidential run.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” the Democrat promised to back President Biden if he runs for reelection.
“He says he’s running; I take him at his word,” said Murphy, 65. “Assuming he does run, he’ll have no bigger backer than yours truly.”
Murphy’s confidants are privately mulling a possible presidential run by Murphy, NJ.com reported last month, amid widespread speculation the 79-year-old incumbent won’t seek a second term.
The term-limited Murphy said Sunday he hasn’t met with potential campaign donors and that the Garden State is his priority.
“We’re focused on the kitchen table morning, noon and night,” he said. “We want New Jersey to be affordable, No. 1; we want it to be the state of opportunity.”
Still, there are a few signs the White House is on Murphy’s mind, NJ.com noted. In recent months, he’s dined with major Dem strategist James Carville and gotten louder about gun control and abortion rights.
“We do have a couple of political vehicles that … focus on, frankly, mostly getting the word out in terms of what we’ve done here,” Murphy said.
“We inherited a state that was in many respects broken,” he continued. “We’ve gotten ourselves back on our feet.”
Murphy also repeated promises for a review of how the state handled the COVID pandemic.
“I think we’re, in a matter of weeks … coming up with a comprehensive program,” he said. “I want to make sure it’s effective, not just in teaching us what went right and what went wrong, but also that it can be a tool for future governors, future administrations.”
Numerous Democrats are considered possible contenders for the 2024 presidential contest if Biden doesn’t run.
Those include Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — both of whom lost the Democrat nomination to Biden in 2020 — along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, according to a Washington Post analysis.
