Top Black minister says Tammy Murphy must earn support of Black voters on her own

Rev. Charles Boyer cautions U.S. Senate candidate to avoid appearance that Phil Murphy is trying to deliver Black voters to her

By David Wildstein, November 16 2023

One of New Jersey’s leading Black ministers and an influential voice on social justice issues, Rev. Charles Boyer, said First Lady Tammy Murphy will need to win the support of Black voters on her own and not assume that the popularity of her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy, will automatically transfer to her.

“To be respected by the Black community, she will need to earn a win and not use money or might to obtain it,” said Boyer. “If the power of the governor is perceived in any way to influence support or intimidate people for not supporting her, it will be an affront to democracy and seen as suspect.”

Boyer is the executive director of Salvation and Social Justice, a leading civil rights group in New Jersey, and the senior pastor of the Greater Mount Zion AME Church in Trenton.

Still, Boyer said New Jersey “is long overdue for a woman in the Senate seat.”

“I think Tammy Murphy has as much right as anyone else to run,” he said. “I truly hope Mrs. Murphy uses this opportunity to build meaningful, substantive bridges with Black communities and institutions like her husband has.”

Earlier today, Murphy picked up the endorsement of Reva Foster, chair of the New Jersey Black Issues Convention and a local civil rights leader in Willingboro. Support from Foster gives Murphy some inroads into Burlington County, the political base of her leading Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).

“As a black woman and mother and as someone who has been involved in this community for decades addressing issues impacting the African American community, I know how difficult it is to address systemic problems plaguing the black community for centuries,” Foster said. “I am excited to support Tammy Murphy because she chose to take on an issue critical for women, and, in particular, for black women and babies in this state.”

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