Phil Murphy
Governor Phil Murphy likes to say that he “grew up in a family that was middle class on a good day.”
He put himself through Harvard on loans and part-time jobs. After earning a graduate degree at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he started his career at the bottom, working his way up to help lead a major international business by learning how economies grow and create jobs.
Murphy has helped lead local charities to support troubled teens and domestic abuse survivors, and these groups have changed thousands of lives for the better. Nationally, he served as New Jersey’s sole representative on the board of the NAACP, the world’s oldest civil rights organization. He has also served as the finance chair of the Democratic National Committee.
In 2009, President Obama appointed Murphy the US Ambassador to Germany, where he served until 2013.
As governor, Murphy plans to make New Jersey more fair and just for all residents, to grow the middle class and jumpstart the state’s economy. In July 2019, the state raised the minimum wage to $10 an hour.
Murphy and his wife, Tammy, live in Monmouth County and are the parents of Josh, Emma, Charlie, and Sam.
Ran for:
Governor of New Jersey
Location:
New Jersey
Status: Serving first term