What you need to know
- State Attorney General Matt Platkin’s indictment on Monday of Democratic strongman George E. Norcross III on organized crime charges marks the culmination of a series of blows against key figures in the state’s major political parties.
- The unrest has further exacerbated feelings of unrest in Democratic-leaning states.
- Among them is a federal bribery case against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty in his ongoing New York trial, and New Jersey’s unique, century-old primary voting system that allowed party leaders to prioritize their preferred candidates was abolished this year.
Being a political boss in New Jersey isn’t what it used to be.
State Attorney General Matt Platkin’s indictment on Monday of Democratic strongman George E. Norcross III on organized crime charges caps a series of blows against key figures in the state’s major political parties and adds to the sense of chaos in the Democratic-dominated state.
The ongoing federal bribery case against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty in his New York trial, has consistently exposed the sordid underbelly of New Jersey politics, and New Jersey’s unique, century-old primary voting system, which allowed party leaders to prioritize their preferred candidates, is set to end this year.
Now Norcross has been indicted. Platkin has alleged that Norcross overstepped the law by orchestrating tax breaks for companies he controlled. Norcross angrily denied any wrongdoing.
Months before the November election, Democrats, already facing a slim majority, are looking to hold on to U.S. Senate seats they never thought they’d have to fight in a year, while Republicans have found new reason to be optimistic about potentially picking up seats they haven’t held in more than 50 years.
Some New Jersey progressives see the unrest as part of a long-overdue cleanup of the messy politics of the state they have long dominated. Other observers draw parallels to what happened at the Republican National Convention, when the power of the GOP’s establishment gave way to a more chaotic populism championed by former President Donald Trump and others like him.
They see this as the disappearance of centralized control across the political spectrum and even the return of power to the people.
“What we’re really seeing is a backlash against things that were acceptable not long ago,” said Daniel Cassino, executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll. “It basically shows that these parties are out of touch with what voters want, and I think the energy in both the Republican and Democratic parties has really swung toward people who are opposed to the institutional parties.”
Platkin, a Democrat, argued that it’s time for the state to shed its reputation for ugly politics, a legacy that has sometimes been fueled by caricature, whether in fictional scenes from “The Sopranos” or in the minds of people who embrace it as a badge of honor.
“We often say that politics is a blood sport in New Jersey,” he said Monday, “which means that if you don’t do what the political powers that be demand, you get hurt. … There is nothing inherent in the culture of our state that demands we accept politics or a government that functions in this way.”
Norcross criticized Platkin’s prosecution as politically motivated, called him a coward and demanded that the trial begin within two weeks.
He is accused of running a criminal enterprise that spanned more than a decade, beginning in 2012, by extorting landowners he was seeking to buy, using the Camden city government to buy land and passing tax-friendly laws that favored companies he controlled. The allegations have been the subject of a long-running investigation, and Norcross has denied any wrongdoing and praised the benefits his investments have brought to the economically struggling city across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
A longtime power player in southern New Jersey, Mr. Norcross often wielded influence through back channels. An old friend of former Senate President and current gubernatorial candidate Steve Sweeney, Mr. Norcross played a key role in passing the Economic Tax Incentives Act in 2013. His brother is co-defendant Philip Norcross, a lobbyist who is also fighting the charges, and former state Rep. Donald Norcross.
George Norcross is a wealthy insurance executive who served on the Democratic National Committee until 2021 and also donated money to state and national Democrats. He has since moved to Palm Beach, Florida, but was previously listed as a member of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Many progressive Democrats in New Jersey have long demonized Norcross, whom they see as enriching himself while oppressing poor residents. On Monday, some of them welcomed his indictment. Working Families Party Chair Antoinette Mills called on authorities to condemn Norcross’s actions. Murphy and other leading Democrats have not yet spoken out.
Sue Altman, a Democratic candidate for the 7th District and a longtime critic of Norcross, saw the indictment, along with Menendez’s federal trial and the abolition of so-called county lines, as part of a year-long “cleanup of corruption” in the state. Altman said state police dragged Norcross out of a legislative hearing in 2019 where he was defending himself and arguing for tax credits his organization received. The National Guard’s removal of him shows the influence he has over lawmakers, she said in an interview.
“I think my being kicked out encapsulated that moment, and it’s certainly been on my mind,” she said. “I think it represents a new beginning for the state of New Jersey.”
Sen. Menendez’s party all but abandoned him after he, his wife and three business associates were indicted in September on charges of participating in a scheme in which the senator accepted cash, gold bars and luxury cars in exchange for the use of his office.
He declined to run for reelection this year as a Democrat and filed this month to run as an independent. His trial is ongoing in New York. Republicans, who are in a minority in state government, see Menendez as a sign of what’s wrong with the Democratic majority.
After Menendez refused to resign, contrary to the advice of Democrats, Rep. Andy Kim became a candidate for the Senate last year. Convinced that the governor’s wife, first lady Tammy Murphy, could secure significant support from the county party, Kim sued to block a primary voting system widely seen as favoring insiders.
Tammy Murphy withdrew, saying she wanted to avoid negative campaigning among Democrats, and a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to ballot designs, bringing New Jersey in line with the rest of the country, at least for this year.
