Steve Sweeney’s comeback faces an uphill battle this election after power of South Jersey machine diminished

Today’s primary election in New Jersey is a test of the South Jersey political machine, which has seen its power wane in recent years

Steve Sweeney is the only South Jersey candidate in a uniquely competitive six-person Democratic primary for governor.

The 65-year-old iron union leader from West Deptford in Gloucester in County held the second most powerful position in New Jersey as state Senate president for longer than anyone else. He was first elected in 2001 and held the leadership role from 2010 to 2022.

A longtime friend of the controversial South Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, Sweeney has the backing of the South Jersey machine.

His bid for governor comes four years after his shocking ouster in the 2021 election by Republican Ed Durr, a truck driver with little name recognition, in a major blow to the Democratic machine.

Sweeney’s unexpected defeat in 2021 was celebrated by both Republicans and progressives, who opposed what they called a corrupt system of cronyism that rewarded loyalty to Norcross and got in the way of outsiders having a real chance of being elected.

Norcross still saw promise in Sweeney even after his 2021 loss. The power broker told The Inquirer days later that he hoped his friend would run for governor in 2025.

“Because he’s the only Democrat in the last 15 years who’s been able to connect properly with working-class men and women of all colors,” Norcross said at the time.

The establishment seemed to take a further hit when Norcross was indicted for racketeering last year, but that case has since been dismissed.

Sweeney avoided talking about Norcross and his legal issues early in his campaign, saying “I’m not George Norcross. I’m Steve Sweeney.” But once the charges against Norcross were dropped, Sweeney, who was referenced in the indictment but not accused of wrongdoing, fiercely defended his longtime friend and backer.

Still, Sweeney, Norcross, and the South Jersey machine face new barriers in this election.

The state legislature redesigned New Jersey’s ballot design earlier this year after the county line design, which put county machine-endorsed candidates like Sweeney at an advantage, faced a legal challenge in last year’s Democratic primary.

For decades, all the candidates endorsed by county party committees were placed together while others were placed off to the side. Now, the machine endorsements are mentioned through a slogan listed with candidates’ names, but candidates are now organized by the office they’re seeking.

Sweeney was endorsed by most of the region’s Democratic party committees: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Salem, and Gloucester, where his campaign is headquartered. In certain parts of South Jersey, his lawn signs are the only ones around.

Cape May County did not make an endorsement in the race, though its chair Marie Blistan was president of the NJEA public school teachers union when it spent millions to try to oust Sweeney with a Republican in 2017. The NJEA, which has a rocky history with Sweeney in part because of the way he handled pensions while in office, has this year put $40 million behind Democratic candidate Sean Spiller, the union’s president.

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, of Montclair in northern Jersey, garnered 10 county party endorsements throughout the central and northern parts of the state – the most out of all the candidates in the race.

How much those endorsements matter remains to be seen.

The power of these endorsements is diminished without the county line, but Sherrill and Sweeney have been able to benefit from the ground game of rank and file Democrats who engage in primary elections.

Another obstacle? The loud anti-machine movement.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop tapped into an anti-machine movement in South Jersey, frequenting the region with down-ballot candidates he recruited to run on a slate with him with matching slogans on the ballot, just like the machine does.

Fulop visited the south more than any other candidate in the race beyond Sweeney, which doesn’t go unnoticed in a region that often feels forgotten by Trenton. Fulop’s campaign said he held more than 30 events in South Jersey over the past six months.

Joe Jones, 69, a Mount Holly resident who is retired from his family’s business supply business, said at a Fulop campaign event in Mount Laurel in Burlington County last week that he believes Fulop “has hit a nerve” with New Jerseyans fed up with the South Jersey machine dictating who should be elected.

“I like to think that this is the first skirmish in a long battle to try to make politics make more sense,” Jones said. “And I’m encouraged because I think Democrats, especially in the national election, found out that politics as usual basically just pisses people off.”

A Sherrill canvasser told The Inquirer that she encountered more supporters of Fulop than Sweeney while knocking on doors in Mount Laurel.

South Jersey’s Democratic machine seems to take that as a real threat.

Norcross’ super PAC sent out mailers turning the script on Fulop, calling him a “north Jersey party boss,” and Norcross donated $5,800 to Sweeney’s gubernatorial campaign this year, which is the individual contribution limit to a gubernatorial candidate.

The Camden City Democratic Committee used the same language to go after Fulop while also criticizing him for being against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Politico reported. Baraka was endorsed by the Camden City mayor, complicating the dynamic of the Camden County Democratic Committee endorsing Sweeney.

The last South Jersey governor was elected in 1989, when Democrat James Florio successfully brought together voters from the region to support him while support for candidates in the north was split.

Political observers have wondered if Sweeney could do the same with the known-to-be well-organized South Jersey machine behind him, but whether it can survive these obstacles is the ultimate test.