TRENTON — After Texas governor Greg Abbot urged New Jersey residents to consider a move to his state in an NJ.com op-ed piece, Gov. Phil Murphy responded with an op-ed of his own in the Dallas Morning News.

In a piece titled "NJ Gov. Murphy to Texas Gov. Abbot: Back off from our people and companies," Murphy calls Abbot’s op-ed a “cheap shot.”

While Abbot's column focuses almost exclusively on the tax and business benefits his state offers, Murphy touched on his state's diversity and quality of life.

New Jersey offers "welcoming communities" that "protect LGBTQ residents and immigrants and defends a woman's right to reproductive health care," according to Murphy.

Murphy said that Texas is home to the "third most unfair state and local tax system in the country" and admitted that New Jersey has a ways to go "but we're fighting to make our taxes more fair."

"For too long, New Jersey put the wealthy and big corporations ahead of ordinary people, and it failed miserably. Now, we're moving New Jersey in a stronger and fairer direction, and Abbott would greatly benefit from taking a closer look at our strategy," the Democrat writes.

Murphy boasts about New Jersey's median household income being $15,000 higher than Texas as well as the state's proximity to ports and 31 million consumers within 100 miles of Newark.

Here's what else Murphy mentioned:

  •  Education: "Through years of investment in public education and our world-class colleges and universities, we also boast one of the world's most highly educated and skilled work forces"  with the 5th highest number of residents with bachelor's degrees versus Texas ranked at  No. 12.
  • Helathcare: Murphy says that New Jersey is home to "many of the nation's best health care systems." Texas is also home to the highest number of uninsured.
  • Gun laws: New Jersey's violent crime rate is half of Texas' because of "strong common sense gun safety laws."

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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