Justin Murphy Defends 'Finish' Iran War Remark as GOP Targets 54-Year New Jersey Senate Drought
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 19
Justin Murphy Defends 'Finish' Iran War Remark as GOP Targets 54-Year New Jersey Senate Drought
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 19
Summary
Justin Murphy said his debate call for Trump to “finish” the Iran war was unplanned but sincere, after the exchange with Sen. Cory Booker went viral and drew national attention.
The New Jersey Republican nominee argued the blunt remark fits his unscripted campaign style and a long-term security message, saying voters should think beyond immediate fears over the conflict and energy costs.
Murphy acknowledged gas at about $4.20 a gallon in his Philadelphia-area base but said higher prices, inflation and interest rates under Joe Biden undercut Democratic attacks on the war’s economic fallout.
Booker, in the Senate for 13 years, is Murphy’s foil as the Republican tries to become New Jersey’s first GOP senator elected since Clifford Case in 1972.
Murphy also tied the race to election integrity, immigration enforcement and domestic energy production, casting the viral debate moment as a test of whether national-security hawkishness can break the state’s 54-year Republican Senate drought.