Voters chose Justin Murphy for U.S. Senate — Now time for GOP elites to step up

Justin Murphy wins the tight Republican U.S. Senate primary on June 2, 2026, coming out on top of a field of four.

I was proud to endorse Murphy, who is a thoughtful, dedicated patriot.

Murphy won a very close four-way primary with 33% of the vote out of about 237k total votes.

Richard Tabor came in second with 29%, and establishment back-room candidate Alex Zdan placed third with Robert Lebovics bringing up the rear in fourth.

The race was fragmented with no dominant frontrunner and a mix of county organization support spread among the candidates.

How Justin Murphy built a winning coalition

Murphy worked the field, showing up at every event possible, and making the case as to how he can be competitive against Booker and do it as a principled Republican.

He spent money in the right places and built visibility and credibility among conservative listeners to the largest audience in the state, calling in every time we opened the mic up to local candidates.

He respected the audience and it helped him build a strong winning coalition.

This is your victory.

Justin's grassroots populist campaign shows that you matter.

He showed that despite the back-room insiders trying to put their thumb on the scale for their favorites, who will do what the insiders tell them to do instead of fighting for New Jersey's middle-and working-class families.

Your vote actually counted.

Can Republicans unite behind Murphy for November?

Let's see if the billionaire, Trump golf-buddy class will step up to make this race competitive.

The NJGOP can barely raise enough money to pay past debts, let alone help any candidates.

The back-room organizational leaders would rather disparage and wreck populist, conservative Republicans who don't 'tow their line' or 'bend the knee' than raise money to help a solid Republican who can make this race competitive.

Silence on the Murphy race in November is complicit in hurting all Republicans at the local level.

It's time for wealthy NJ Republicans who donated millions to the guy who has now lost three times for Governor, to step up and prove that you aren't just in this for your country club pals.

If you're really republicans and want to help rebuild the minority party in New Jersey, here's your chance.

Lemme make it even easier, click here and donate.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

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