TRENTON -- Criticizing Gov. Chris Christie for his frequent absences from the state, Phil Murphy announced Monday he running for the 2017 Democratic nomination for New Jersey governor -- a move that kickstarts the race to succeed Christie 18 months before the general election.
Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany, launched his campaign with a web video, saying that while it's "unusual" for a candidate to declare this early, the state's myriad problems "can't wait" any longer for solutions.
"New Jersey needs a leader who has our back," says Murphy, 58, of Middletown. "Frankly? We're concerned."
Christie, a Republican in the midst of his second term, is prevented by law from seeking a third term next year. In addition to Murphy, about 10 other people from both parties are considered possible contenders to succeed Christie.
Murphy is the first candidate to formally enter the race, although state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) said last year he will not seek re-election and plans to run for governor instead.
But while the timing of the announcement was a surprise, Murphy's ambitions are not.
In 2014, he formed a policy group, New Start New Jersey, and later launched New Way for New Jersey, a political organization that has promoted issues like paid sick leave and college affordability with a website and a multimillion-dollar cable television ad campaign.
Much like presidential candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, Murphy -- who has never held elective office -- could tap into the public's desire for a leader from outside the political establishment.
In the video released on Monday, Murphy insisted that he does not "owe the insiders anything" and promised to end "petty infighting that only serves the well-connected."
The danger for Murphy is that his background as a Goldman Sachs could stir memories of Christie's predecessor, Democrat Jon Corzone, who was also an executive with the investment bank and an unpopular governor who failed to get re-elected.
Murphy spent most of his career at Goldman Sachs, leading its German, Austrian and Swiss operations and later serving as president of its Asian branch before retiring as a senior director of the firm in 2006. He is a graduate of Harvard University and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
His many years on Wall Street occasionally creeps into his everyday speech, as when in an interview with NJ Advance Media on Monday he called New Jersey "the single most under-managed asset I've ever seen in my life."
A major Democratic donor, Murphy was appointed U.S. ambassador to Germany by President Obama in 2009, a position he held until May 2013.
Murphy, who is independently wealthy and able to self-finance his campaign, has a big advantage over other Democratic candidates who need to wait until later in the year to qualify for public financing.
In Monday's interview, he was unsparing in his criticism of Christie's activities in pursuit of national office.
Murphy said that for Christie to volunteer to lead Trump's transition team instead of focusing solely on New Jersey's problems is "a complete abrogation of his responsibility." The governor had spent a great deal of time out of state as a presidential candidate as well as chairman and vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
"It should be unacceptable to anybody in the state," regardless of party affiliation, Murphy said.
Christie's approach to governance, he said, is entirely too hands off, and pointed to his inability to find common ground with the state's teacher union, officials in Atlantic City, or Democrats in the state Legislature over how to finance the Transportation Trust Fund, which is almost depleted.
"The governor is the most consequential person in the state," Murphy said. "The notion that our problems can be solved without the most consequential person in that state in the room is beyond me."
The state's financial and infrastructure problems are so pressing, Murphy said, that he is willing to be a one-term governor so long as embracing unpopular positions succeed in fixing the state's financial woes.
"Do we need a governor who is prepared to make the tough calls, and expend political capital?" Murphy asked. "I want to be that guy. I want them to think I've got their back."
Notably, the goals listed in Monday's video read like a photo negative of Christie's own stances. For example, Murphy says he supports "equal pay for equal work."
Earlier this month, Christie vetoed a bill would have prohibited an employer from paying a worker of one sex less than that of another for substantially similar work, saying it went beyond federal standards and would have made New Jersey "very business unfriendly."
Murphy also echoed a call by state Assembly Democrats to raise New Jersey's minimum wage, something Christie has vetoed, most recently in 2013, and opposed in his presidential campaign.
He also called for measures "protecting women's health care," a reference to the fact that Christie is the only governor in New Jersey history to eliminate state funds for Planned Parenthood, and to keep New Jersey "safe from gun violence."
The Christie administration recently relaxed state regulations on firearms enabling police departments to issue gun permits to anyone in New Jersey who can prove a "serious threat" against their life.
The former ambassador was decidedly less than diplomatic when it came to assessing Christie's tenure, saying it was not that the governor couldn't solve the problem over the lack of transportation funding but that he chose not to.
"I find it quite interesting that when he wanted to lead, he led," Murphy said. "It was just on social issues like women's health and guns, or whatever fit the national arc of his presidential campaign."
Murphy could face five or more opponents in the Democratic primary, including Lesniak, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, and state Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Middlesex County.
On the Republican side, possible candidates include Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick of Union County, Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown, Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli of Somerset County, state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. of Union County, and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.