Incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and his Republican opponent, Justin Murphy, squared off in their only debate of the 2026 General Election on Oct. 8 at Rider University.
The 60-minute debate was moderated by New Jersey Globe Editor David Wildstein and Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider.
The debate can be watched on C-SPAN for the entirety of the election season.
As the candidates shook hands for the photographers, the bald Booker led off with a joke: “I’ll stipulate from the beginning that I am jealous of his hair.”
Murphy was first to make his opening statement.
After thanking participants and the crowd, he said, “We are both competing for a U.S. Senate seat in what I believe are the most important mid-term elections facing America in my generation. There’s an America out there that we can all build together and believe in and work together and build together; it’s what represented by my campaign.
“I’m honored to be the Republican Party’s nominee. I’m asking you to do something that hasn’t been done since 1972: send a Republican to serve in the United States Senate. It’s been too long in my opinion. Now, some of you might think that’s a good thing, and I’m sure that Cory does, but I think we need a change. I think we need some fresh air. America desperately needs a new generation of Republicans serving in Washington. New Jersey needs a new day in its politics, and the middle and working classes of New Jersey need a voice in Washington, and that’s what my campaign and my candidacy is based on, is what it represents.”
When Booker made his opening remarks, he almost immediately attacked not Murphy, but Donald Trump.
“This is the challenge we have right now: We have a reckless president who’s out of control, a president who is chaotic and cruel and has attacked our state, from throwing hundreds of thousands of people off their healthcare to the tariffs that have driven up our costs and a war in Iran that has made our nation pay at the pump as well as the price of the lives of our soldiers.
“We are in a crisis right now of affordability, and between $4,000 and $5,000 has been added to the average New Jerseyean’s prices and cost of living. We must continue to fight against this president, not having a Republican Party enabling him and what he’s built.”
The sharpest exchange of the evening was about the war in Iran. Booker called the war “one of the most colossally stupid things the president has ever done” and called it a “quagmire.” Murphy said the war is necessary to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and wants Trump to “finish it in a positive manner” and to “kick some ass.” Booker shot back that Murphy’s approach was a “yahoo cowboy foreign policy.”
The candidates certainly had different views of the economy as well. Booker said it was a poor economy; Murphy countered by praising strong stock market growth, job gains and rising median incomes.
Murphy is a decided underdog in the race for many reasons.
Booker has raised $33,504,255 for his campaign while Murphy managed to raise only $27,316.
The Cook Political Report, Decision Desk, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all predict the race is either Solid Democrat or Safe Democrat.
Booker is an experienced politician. He was a member of the Newark Municipal Council from 1998 to 2002. He resigned to run for mayor but lost, the only political defeat of his life. Booker ran for mayor again in 2006 and served until 2013, when he won a special election for the Senate. He was reelected in 2014 and 2020. Booker did begin a run for president in 2019, but suspended his campaign on Jan. 13, 2020.
Booker earned an undergraduate and master’s degree from Stanford University, where he played as a tight end in football. He went on to study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and then earned his law degree from Yale.
Murphy joined the U.S Navy at the age of 17 and honorably served for four years. His deployment included serving in the Arabian and Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. The lifelong resident of South Jersey went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rowan University and a juris doctor from Widener University.
The highest office Murphy ever held was as a Tabernacle committeeman and deputy mayor from 2001 to 2003. He finished third and last in the 2008 Republican Primary for the House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District and had the misfortune to run against former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyan in the Republican Primary in 2010. In 2024, Murphy dipped his toes into a U.S. Senate Republican Primary, finishing third in a four-horse race.
