A stronger, fairer, more affordable New Jersey.

That is the state Philip D. Murphy has been dedicated to building since taking the oath of office as New Jersey’s 56th Governor on January 16, 2018. With his re-election in November 2021, Governor Murphy made history as the first Democratic Governor in New Jersey to be elected to a second term in more than 40 years.

Over the course of the Murphy Administration, New Jersey has mounted a comeback for the ages.

In just under eight years, the state has emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the Northeast.

For the first time in a generation, fiscal responsibility has been restored in Trenton — with nine consecutive credit rating upgrades in three years and five full pension payments in a row.

Governor Murphy has also made historic investments in lowering costs for working families — from providing record-high funding to support the state’s best-in-the-nation public education system to making high-quality health care more affordable and more accessible for every family.

In the midst of global economic uncertainty, Governor Murphy has championed the needs of New Jersey’s middle class and seniors by delivering real tax fairness and relief — including the most ambitious property tax relief program in the state’s history, the ANCHOR program — while also ensuring that the wealthiest New Jerseyans and biggest corporations pay their fair share.

A major priority of the Murphy Administration has been preparing New Jersey — and its people — to lead the industries of the future. The Governor has embarked on a whole-of-government approach to revive the state’s reputation as a global leader in innovation. As part of this undertaking, the Administration has launched New Jersey’s AI Moonshot and established 12 Strategic Innovation Centers, which bring together innovators, industry leaders, and institutions of higher learning to unlock breakthroughs in a variety of fields, from the life sciences to fintech to generative AI and beyond. As a result of these efforts, New Jersey has been increasingly recognized as one of the top states in the nation for venture capital investment and as the most-improved state for business, according to CNBC.

Governor Murphy has also positioned New Jersey to lead the nation in deploying new sources of affordable, reliable, and renewable energy. In particular, his Administration has rapidly accelerated the growth of solar power and grid-scale battery-storage, setting the state on course to reach 100% clean energy by 2035 — one of the most ambitious clean energy goals in the entire country. Because of these investments, New Jersey is poised to create generations of good-paying, union jobs in the renewable industries that will power America’s future.

The Governor has also focused on making New Jersey a leading location for film, television, and digital production, enacting a new incentive program that has attracted billions of dollars in investments to New Jersey since 2021. Some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Lionsgate, Netflix, and Paramount, have established a presence — and committed to investing — in New Jersey. In 2025, Netflix even broke ground on a state-of-the-art, 300-acre production facility, which will generate billions of dollars in economic activity for the state in the years to come.

Similarly, Governor Murphy has helped cement New Jersey’s reputation as a premier destination for live entertainment and sports. During Governor Murphy’s time in office, the state has been selected to host some of the world’s biggest sporting events, including UFC title fights, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final.

Additionally, when New Jersey was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Murphy worked closely with federal leaders, in Congress as well as the White House, to secure life-saving resources and make New Jersey a national leader in vaccine distribution and administration. As a result of these efforts, New Jersey emerged from the pandemic as the number one state for private sector job creation in the entire Northeast. This historic economic rebound was supported by the billions of dollars that the Murphy Administration provided in state and federal relief to small businesses, schools, homeowners, tenants, landlords, and middle-class families.

The Murphy Administration has also made monumental progress when it comes to lowering costs and raising wages for New Jersey’s working families. In partnership with the Legislature, he raised the state’s minimum wage from $8.60 when he took office to more than $15-per-hour, enacted guaranteed paid sick leave, and expanded paid family leave. Governor Murphy has made historic investments in K-12 education, put New Jersey on the path to universal pre-K, and created the College Promise program to provide tuition-free college for tens of thousands of students.

He has supported policies that have driven down the cost of health care, including prescription drugs, and has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in medical debt relief for New Jersey’s residents. And he worked closely with the Legislature to enact the most significant affordable housing law in 40 years, ensuring that new housing will be built fairly and without delay.

Moreover, the Murphy Administration has made generational investments to modernize New Jersey’s infrastructure, from creating new, dedicated funding streams to support NJ TRANSIT to securing full funding to complete the Hudson Tunnel Project, which will double transit capacity along the Northeast Corridor. The Administration has also replenished NJ TRANSIT’s ranks of engineers, conductors, and bus operators. 

Governor Murphy has expanded protections for the state’s immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. He has made New Jersey a national leader in enacting gun safety laws that have resulted in the number of shootings in New Jersey falling to their lowest levels on record. And, in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous overturning of Roe v. Wade, he enacted a landmark law that protects the fundamental right to an abortion throughout pregnancy and has made New Jersey a safe haven for reproductive care.

Since day one of his Administration, Governor Murphy has worked to establish New Jersey as a model state for racial justice. He has decriminalized marijuana and cultivated a thriving adult-use cannabis industry, expunged the records of non-violent offenders, and launched a first-of-its-kind clemency program for New Jerseyans in need of second chances. He has also created the nation’s strongest provisions for environmental justice and has put a focus on eliminating stigma and promoting a compassionate approach to tackling the opioid crisis. He has consistently protected and strengthened New Jersey’s democracy, including enacting automatic voter registration, in-person early voting, and restoring voting rights to individuals on probation or parole. And Governor Murphy has successfully appointed five Justices to the New Jersey Supreme Court, all with bipartisan support.

While establishing New Jersey as a progressive leader in every area of public policy, Governor Murphy has also made historic progress in restoring New Jersey’s financial health. He became the first Governor in a quarter-century to make a full annual pension payment, which he has now done for five years in a row. Additionally, after 11 consecutive credit rating downgrades prior to his taking office, Governor Murphy has secured nine consecutive credit rating upgrades for New Jersey. Under his leadership, New Jersey has seen record budget surpluses and the retirement of billions of dollars in state debt.

Governor Murphy currently serves as the Finance Chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Previously, he served as the Chair of the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association, and made history as the first Governor to lead both organizations simultaneously.