This piece is written "in character" by the guy who plays Nixon on Twitter, but its analysis of NJ politics and the current Senate race is dead-on and fascinating.
Patronage isn’t what it used to be.Having the right brother-in-law isn’t worth much. Nor is knocking on doors for the winner. It can’t hurt your prospects, but it no longer guarantees a lifetime of steady work. (Or unlimited sick days, if that suits you.) You still need to pass the tests, be on time, watch your back. Because aren’t we past men in back rooms running things?
Not quite. In Chicago what's left of the old Machine patronage now runs through the teachers’ union, and in Philadelphia it still helps to knows the ward boss. But there are fewer plums on the tree. America’s last pure political bosses are in New Jersey.
The two most powerful New Jerseyans are the governor and Senate president. Below them are the county bosses—that is, heads of the local Democratic party. Some hold public office, but many don’t. First among equals are Essex County in the north, run by Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr., and Camden in the south, run by George Norcross, III.
Norcross effectively controls all of South Jersey. DiVincenzo’s power in the north isn’t quite so broad, but it’s close. They have considerable clout as to how tax dollars are used, and awarding state contracts. (DiVincenzo is also County Executive; Norcross runs an insurance company.) State government is shot through with their people. You don’t run for office without their approval, and you certainly don’t win.
Norcross suffered his first real defeat at the hands of Gov. Murphy, who ran against Christie-style cronyism. He revealed that Norcross’s company and family members received sweetheart tax breaks on land marked for redevelopment. This was a power play by a newcomer to electoral politics, and it worked. Norcross was embarrassed; Murphy won. The hierarchy was set.
Several years later, Norcross quietly got his tax breaks.
The real hit to Norcross was the defeat in 2021 of his childhood friend, State Senate President Steve Sweeney. He got arrogant, ignored his district, and lost to a Trump-loving truck driver. (The Democrats took the district back in 2023, but without Sweeney, who is running for governor.) Norcross was now entirely dependent on Gov. Murphy.
So there was no question that Norcross would grant Tammy Murphy—the governor’s wife—one of the state's most valuable prizes as she runs for the U.S. Senate: the Camden “county line.”
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The “line” is an ancient and unique feature of New Jersey politics. It means that candidates endorsed by the county organization are grouped together in the first ballot row. Others are far to the right, separated by blanks—“Siberia.”
Candidates with the “line” almost always win.
There’s nothing democratic about this, but it wasn’t ripe for a challenge until Bob Menendez was found with gold bars in his house. Not that it was a shock; everyone and the dog knows he’s a thief and degenerate. But—along with selling yourself to foreign governments—it’s the kind of detail you can’t ignore.
Menendez was a creature of the bosses. They propped him up, and abandoned him only when he got sloppy. So U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who represents parts of Burlington and Ocean Counties—he had the county line—decided to run against them.
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Kim is mild-mannered, but there’s steel in him. Before his first campaign Norcross told him to move north, where the Asians are. Kim persisted, won a close race in ‘18, and has twice been comfortably re-elected. He’s known as one of the nicest people in Congress, and his constituent service gets high marks.
He’s accomplished—a Rhodes Scholar, former National Security Council—but he comes off like your plainspoken, enthusiastic neighbor. (Much of Kim’s rumored connection to the CIA comes from the fact he’s so earnest and disarming. No one would make him for a spy.) But make no mistake, he’s a politician; he was ready when Menendez was indicted. He announced his Senate run within a day.
Mrs. Murphy, on the other hand, took her time getting in. She’s a former Republican. She’s never run for anything before, and it shows. Her appearances are wooden, and she promises exactly what you expect: she’s a “problem solver,” “gets things done,” etc.
In the circumstances, people prefer “unbought and unbossed.” Kim currently leads by 12 points.
But Mrs. Murphy can count on the line.
Right?
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Kim won the line in Burlington (a dispensation from Norcross), Hunterdon and Monmouth Counties. The rest are in the tank for Mrs. Murphy.
Camden County is the most populous part of South Jersey. In the north, she has the line in Passaic, and is due to get it in Essex and Hudson. Kim’s strong campaign aside, these alone would be a considerable advantage.
Kim has filed suit that the county line system is unconstitutional, and the state must restructure the ballot before the June 4 primary. (A similar, unrelated 2020 lawsuit is still stuck in court. Gold bars do clarify things.)
Attorney General Matt Platkin, an ally of Gov. Murphy, agrees with Kim. In a last-minute letter to the judge before a hearing this week, he called the system unconstitutional and said the state wouldn’t defend it.
The judge was annoyed. Platkin had 60 days to make a statement; he clearly wanted to stab the Murphys in the back away from open court. (They rode into power on Wall Street money. No one is especially loyal to them.) But no defense is no defense. The judge isn’t guaranteed to overturn the line, but he now has significant cover to do so.
It’s unclear if the judge will decide before the March 25th filing deadline. (He could order the primary moved to later in June or July if necessary.) But Platkin’s betrayal speaks to Kim’s head of steam. As does Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, an established powerbroker who is running for governor. He switched his endorsement from Murphy to Kim this week, excoriating Mrs. Murphy for staying silent on the issue.
Again, Kim isn’t an insurgent; he’s a politician with a good sense of the public, who wants to dispense with rules that no longer benefit him. He knows when to move, and goes like hell when he does. Should he prevail this speaks to a bright future in the Senate.
But if he smashes the Machine along the way, he will have changed New Jersey forever and earned clout that won’t soon diminish.