“In New Jersey, there was a machine that was really powerful and if you went up against it, you lost. Through Norcross losing power, the county line lawsuit and Menendez’s indictment … all these events have created this window, and people are stepping into it,” Rutgers political science professor Julia Sass Rubin said.
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Can New Jersey’s political machines hold on to power?
New Jersey’s political boss culture dates back more than 100 years. It was able to outlast the good government reforms of the early 20th century. While the current moment feels hopeful, political machines do not give up power easily.
Politics in New Jersey has gone off the rails — even by New Jersey standards
“You could not envision a day when Norcross wasn’t running the state essentially,” Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers University professor who studies New Jersey government, said of that period. “That he’s now under indictment, it’s stunning.”
Prof. Julia Sass Rubin: Advocate for Democracy
“My passionate fight for a better democratic process of having our voices heard can be traced to initiatives by the Christie administration to slash funding for public education,” Julia Sass Rubin says.
Tax credits for private school tuition plan scrapped
“They don’t work, they become exorbitantly expensive, they hurt public schools and they lead to discrimination. The real question is: Why would you promote this bill?” Rubin said.
Primary results suggest absence of ‘party line’ made a difference
“It’s early as the votes are still being counted but it certainly looks like not having a county line shakes things up, especially in the less high-profile races where the county line matters the most,” said Julia Sass Rubin
NJ primary election night results 2024 | NJ Decides
With more mail-in ballots left to count, it’s still too early to tell what impact the suspension of the party line may have had on Democratic candidates.
Machine-backed Democrats have big NJ primary wins, even without the ‘line’
“Most political actors and donors are waiting to see how this issue plays out over the next few years before doing anything that may upset the county party organizations,” Sass Rubin said.
NJ Primary Election: Kim declared winner in Senate race, Menendez in House race
With more mail-in ballots left to count, it’s still too early to tell what impact the suspension of the party line may have had on Democratic candidates.
Andy Kim upended New Jersey politics. Now he’s on track to become a senator
Rubin says Kim benefitted from good timing — he was the right candidate at the right political moment. “He definitely had the right framing for people to believe that he is a reformer, and he was willing to take that risk and go up against the system.”
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