Murphy not on publicized shortlists for potential Democratic vice presidential candidates

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s closest allies are trying to promote him as a candidate for vice president now that President Joe Biden has dropped his re-election bid and has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

Murphy’s national ambitions are no secret. He was considering a presidential bid if Biden did not seek re-election, and his wife had an unsuccessful Democratic primary campaign this year for the U.S. Senate to replace Bob Menendez.

Politico NJ and The New Jersey Globe, both citing unnamed sources close to Murphy, claim the governor has received calls from national Democratic leaders to discuss the possibility of him being the party’s candidate for vice president.

Murphy, a former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, served as Democratic National Finance Chairman and chaired both the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association. Under his leadership in New Jersey, the state’s campaign finance law was gutted last year. This year Murphy signed a law rolling back government transparency under the state’s Open Public Records Act. The move was very unpopular with the public, with more than 80 percent of residents opposing it.

Numerous media outlets have published lists of top contenders to be the Democratic nominee for vice president. Murphy is not on any of the lists, which feature candidates in key swing states.

Following are the people whose names keep circulating as potential candidates for vice president (in alphabetical order by state):

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg