New Jersey's ultimate traveling schmoozefest draws big field of candidates for governor

Politico

07-02-2025

More than a half-dozen candidates for governor of New Jersey descended upon Washington, D.C., to schmooze with some of the state's most well-connected businesspeople and political operatives in one of the state's oldest political traditions.
The state Chamber of Commerce's annual 'Walk to Washington' train ride down the Northeast Corridor is historically one of the premier networking events for anyone seeking office. Train cars are stuffed with powerful lobbyists, businesspeople and nonprofit leaders, giving candidates a captive audience. But don't read too much into it, the candidates say.
This year is different. The race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy will put the power of the political machine to the test. Without the state's infamous county line — which gave party-backed candidates a better spot on the ballot — conversations surrounding which candidate will benefit the political elite versus the everyday voter are dominating both party primaries.
To prove their 'anti-machine' or 'political outsider' bona fides, some candidates — like Democratic Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Republican former state Sen. Ed Durr — have shirked party nominating conventions altogether this year. And the Walk to Washington was just another embodiment of the political class, they argued as a reason to skip the event.
The walk returned this week after a five-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It came back in part because of the gubernatorial race, said New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken. (The long-running New Jersey tradition has also faced criticism in the past when women said they were harassed on the train.)
The gubernatorial candidates who did attend said that it is part of their efforts to build a broad coalition for their campaigns.
Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said that the event was helpful for him to listen to people's issues, though he acknowledged that the walk is 'the ultimate insider thing.'
'It's not really what I would do, but I'm here,' Baraka told POLITICO in between train cars on the way down to D.C. He said he appreciated that the event allows businesses to network and that it provided a panel Friday for the gubernatorial candidates to discuss the economy. But 'other than that, I'd be knocking on somebody's door, at a bar, at a barber shop or a thrift store.'
The event had its fair share of campaigning. Democratic New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller walked the packed train cars with an aide handing out baggies of what he said were his favorite candies — Nerds and Smarties. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer laid out 'uncap the SALT' salt shakers and miniature trains with his logo on the tables in a cafe car. And when attendees arrived at Union Station, they were greeted by people holding 'Carpenters for Sweeney' signs, in support of Democratic former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.
'This is one train trip,' Sweeney said to POLITICO in a crowded Amtrak car, adding that it gives him a chance to reconnect with people. 'You're not changing anybody's minds on this train, by any means.'
Other candidates disagreed with the characterization of the walk as an 'insider event,' including Republicans Bill Spadea and Jack Ciattarelli, who was the only Republican candidate to take the chamber train down. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill said she does not 'look at stuff as just inside or outside,' and Republican state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who attended chamber events but did not take the train, called the conversation of insider vs. outsider 'absurd.'
'This is an event where you've got business leaders saying, 'Who are these guys running for governor, and do they have a sense of what New Jersey needs for the business community?'' Spadea said, calling the event 'exactly the opposite' of a gathering for insiders. Like Bramnick, he attended but did not take the train down. 'I don't see how you can skip an event like this and then credibly face the business community and say, 'Hey, I've got solutions for you.''
Spadea said he loves events put on by the chamber 'because it is a mix of Democrats, Republicans, independents.'
'When you remove the partisan politics out of the conversation — you heard every person up there, including these far-left Democrats — talking about cutting taxes,' he said. 'It's amazing. So it sounds to me like we have a consensus that New Jersey taxes are too high and need to be cut.'
Friday's gubernatorial forum — which included Baraka, Bramnick, Ciattarelli, Gottheimer, Sherrill, Spadea, Spiller and Sweeney — was a relatively cordial affair, especially compared with the fiery Republican debate earlier this week.
Before the chamber attendees, candidates cracked jokes with each other — 'It's great to have another Republican candidate,' Ciattarelli said after Gottheimer presented his economic plan — and agreed on some policy points, like cutting the state's corporate business taxes. There was just one comment from Spadea that elicited a jeer from the crowd: saying that 'We ought to be on the phone with Elon Musk' while advocating for a Department of Government Efficiency in New Jersey.
Recent events in Washington also loomed over the event. Baraka expressed defiance 'no matter what the plutocrats are doing in D.C.'
Bramnick, a moderate Republican, didn't want to talk about making New Jersey more like Washington.
'Well Elon Musk is not gonna be in my cabinet,' he said during the forum. 'I can tell you that right now … I am not gonna bring national politics into Jersey. Jersey is its own environment.'
Spadea didn't only have his mind on President Donald Trump's Washington — while Murphy once famously said he wanted New Jersey to become the California of the East Coast, Spadea had a conservative analogy in mind.
'We will be Florida without the humidity,' he said at the forum.
Murphy, who addressed the gathering on Thursday evening, said he didn't watch any of the debates to succeed him so far — and he doesn't plan to.
'I'm staying out of politics right now,' he said 'I've got my head down sprinting to the goal line.'
The walk was just the start of a marathon of events for the gubernatorial hopefuls. On Sunday, the first Democratic county convention will be held in Hunterdon County, kicking off a weekslong dash across the state. (Republicans held their first convention earlier this week in Cape May County, where only Ciattarelli participated.) And even though there's no 'county line' this year — and criticisms about party bosses are still abound — some candidates still think there's still a benefit in taking part.
'I think it's not smart, actually,' Baraka said of skipping these events. 'I don't think you skip anything. I think those are tools. You don't leave them on the table. People invite you. You gotta go.'