Republican Justin Murphy campaigns against Cory Booker with unscripted debate moment on Iran war
Justin Murphy, a Navy veteran, attorney, and former deputy mayor of Tabernacle, New Jersey, won the Republican U.S. Senate primary on June 2, 2026, and is now running against incumbent Democratic Senator Cory Booker. Murphy drew attention after a debate exchange in which he urged President Trump to aggressively pursue the ongoing conflict with Iran. New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Clifford Case was last elected in 1972.
Two sources · Thin corroboration
Justin Murphy, who describes himself as unscripted, drew widespread social media attention after a debate with Senator Cory Booker in which he urged President Trump to press forward with the Iran conflict. "Mr. President, put your cowboy hat on and get out there and kick some a** and get this done and done right," Murphy said during the exchange, according to the Washington Examiner. Fox News Digital reported Murphy separately said Trump should forcefully "finish it."
Murphy told Fox News Digital the moment was unplanned. "I don't have a speechwriter. There's no teleprompter — I shoot from the hip because I want people to see a very sincere, genuine and authentic Justin Murphy," he said. He added that he had no expectation the exchange would go viral on social media.
Murphy framed his Iran position in terms of long-term national and energy security, arguing that resolving the conflict would spare future generations from concern about access to the Strait of Hormuz. When asked about the war's effect on gas prices — which he placed at approximately $4.20 per gallon in his area of the Philadelphia metro — he pointed to domestic energy production and increased refining capacity as solutions, and compared current prices favorably to what he described as higher costs under the Biden administration.