Meet the Republican Senate candidate who wants Trump to continue the Iran war

Justin Murphy, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, wants President Donald Trump to continue the war in Iran, a stark contrast to most other GOP candidates.“Mr. President, put your cowboy hat on and get out there and kick some a** and get this done and done right,” Murphy said about the conflict during a debate with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).While several Republican candidates in midterm races have called for an immediate end to the war in Iran, often pointing to high gas prices, Murphy told the Trump administration to “stay the course.” The debate clip has now gone viral, with online accounts clipping the video to “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and several big names in conservative media reposting it. “Finish that war in a positive manner. We can’t wait halfway through and decide we don’t want to do this anymore,” Murphy said. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a radical terrorist organization that has deprived the Iranian people and the Persian people of their history and of a decent life.”Murphy, an attorney and former local politician, has more views on clips of that single debate answer than he has dollars in cash on hand. He told the Washington Examiner that he “never anticipated” the viral response to the video, but it has helped give his campaign a boost in attention as he faces an uphill battle against Booker.“JD Vance tweeted, [former national security adviser] Gen. Michael Flynn retweeted. The views on it, from what I understand now, are in the millions. I never anticipated that. It’s welcome news, a little overwhelming. Our fundraising has benefited greatly from it,” Murphy said, though the Washington Examiner could not independently verify that Vice President JD Vance reposted the video.Murphy estimated that his campaign had raised between $20,000 to $30,000 in the week following the October debate. Though not millions, that is between double and triple the amount he filed in cash on hand at the end of September.UNDERDOG REPUBLICAN JUSTIN MURPHY TO FACE CORY BOOKER WITH NEGATIVE BALANCE IN CAMPAIGN ACCOUNTMurphy won the June Republican primary with negative $23.71 in cash on hand. At the end of the third quarter, he filed $9,578.25 in cash on hand, compared to the over $22.56 million that incumbent Booker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, had at the end of September.Murphy joked about the fundraising difference during the debate, saying, “I think my Almighty Creator God has made all currency on this planet allergic to me because it avoids me at everything I do in my life.”He told the Washington Examiner that there is “probably no question” Booker will out-raise and out-spend his campaign, but that his team is trying to put in ground work to make up the difference.“We’ve been out on the ground at the grassroots level in all 21 counties. We’ve been on the radio. We’ve got a booming social media viral moment right now that’s getting us millions upon millions of views. We’ve got ground game in major counties, important areas — we have people walking neighborhoods, I go out myself,” Murphy said.Murphy did not say whether he had heard from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He is not listed as one of the Senate Leadership Fund’s 2026 candidates. He has not yet heard from the White House after his viral debate moment, although he said his campaign is “working some angles to the White House to try to get their interest in New Jersey.”“We’re working hard. We light a candle, we don’t curse the darkness. Resources would be nice; we would always love more. But this viral moment is actually giving us, I think, what we need, and we’ll just continue to push.” Murphy said.Murphy’s race, and his Everest-like climb against three-term incumbent Booker, is listed as a “solid Democratic” race by election forecasters. There have been no polls yet in the race, according to 270towin.com, but RealClearPolitics’s latest Polymarket odds for the race show Booker with 97% odds to win in November.Elaborating on his answer about the Iran war, Murphy spoke with the Washington Examiner about how he would like to see the Pentagon go the distance in Iran. He argued American politicians have to “get over the fear of uttering the words regime change.”Murphy said he would like to see the United States “isolate the IRGC” and install Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Iranian Shah, as a “transitionary political figure” until the Iranian people can democratically elect a leader. He added that the hypothetical “probably doesn’t need military intervention.”He said he stands by the war to, in part, ensure a non-nuclear Iran for future generations of Americans.“The threats are daily, and while they’re actively developing ballistic missile technology and enriching uranium far past anything that would be required for civilian or medicinal use, so President Trump is right to do what he’s doing. It’s difficult to make right, tough decisions sometimes,” Murphy said.While Murphy stands by the war in Iran, many Democratic candidates and several Republicans have called for an end to the conflict due to high energy prices from the volatility in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has continually been polled as unpopular among Americans, as respondents worry about prolonged fighting.Several allies of Trump, including candidates he has endorsed, have called for an immediate end to the war as they face pressure on high prices and against Democratic headwinds: Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers running for Senate in Michigan; Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) running for Senate in Iowa; and Republican Aaron Flint running in Montana’s 1st Congressional District have each called for swift ends to the war.“Michigan families are struggling with the price of everyday life. Groceries cost too much. You have to bring prices down. The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly. When it does, energy costs will plummet,” Trump-endorsed Rogers said in a campaign advertisement.According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. gas prices dipped under $3 for a regular gallon in February 2026, before the U.S. and Israel launched the first joint airstrikes of the year against Iran. In May, prices reached $4.50 per regular gallon, while they now sit around $4.33. Murphy says, “Be patient.” “The solution is to resolve this war in the right way, keep the Straits of Hormuz from ever having to haunt future generations, and increasing our refining capacity. And we will then have conquered that issue, and we’ll have stable low oil prices for a generation,” Murphy said.He said Trump is “right to do what he’s doing” and that presidents have to make “tough decisions sometimes.”“Of course, the president would like very much to live in a peaceful world where gasoline is $2 a gallon. We don’t have that luxury, OK? But we’re going to build that world, and we just have to be patient, have his back, and realize that you know we should worry about the next generation of Americans,” Murphy said.JON HUSTED ADDS TO REPUBLICAN CHORUS CALLING FOR TRUMP TO END IRAN WAR But Booker slammed Trump and Murphy from the debate stage on the conflict, calling the decision to go to war “one of the most colossally stupid things” in presidential history.“This is the kind of yahoo, cowboy foreign policy that has mired us in Middle East war after Middle East war, with false-bravado leaders saying we’re just going to go in there and kick a**,” Booker said in response to Murphy’s viral answer. “You know what that’s done to the Treasury of our country? Eight trillion dollars spent in foreign wars in the Middle East, and none of them have ended well.”