Silenced in the Garden State: How New Jersey’s Democratic political establishment protects the powerful

When a citizen speaks out against a proposed development, a blogger critiques a local business, or a community group protests a powerful politician, they engage in the bedrock of public participation.

But in New Jersey, unlike in 33 other states and the District of Columbia, these critics face a heightened risk of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP)—a meritless lawsuit designed not to win, but to intimidate, silence, and bankrupt opponents through costly legal battles.

Without a robust Anti-SLAPP statute, New Jersey defendants must rely on traditional, slow, and expensive procedural mechanisms to challenge baseless defamation claims.

This legal void creates a two-tiered justice system: one for the wealthy and well-connected who can weaponize the courts, and another for everyone else who cannot afford a prolonged defense.

“The threat of a six-figure legal bill is enough to make most people back down, even if they know they’re right,” said Lisa McCormick, a community organizer who faced a lawsuit filed by the Democratic State Committee after her boyfriend supported a slate of school board candidates in Roselle. “It’s a cudgel, and in New Jersey, the powerful are handed it freely.”

Four years later, that case has been recycled five times and it remains unresolved. McCormick said she did nothing wrong and the plaintiff has not alleged any damages except the cost of the bogus litigation.

McCormick said this legislative gap is not an isolated oversight but part of a broader pattern that good-government advocates and progressive critics argue exposes the true loyalties of New Jersey’s Democratic political establishment.

While presenting a progressive face to its predominantly Democratic electorate, the party’s insider class has consistently advanced an agenda that prioritizes the interests of its wealthy contributors—often the same corporate oligarchs who finance Republicans—over those of its constituents.

This alignment is evident in a series of recent actions.

Lawmakers gutted the once-strong Open Public Records Act (OPRA), making it harder and more expensive for citizens and journalists to access government documents.

Governor Phil Murphy, the second Democrat who made millions at Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs to become chief executive in the Garden State, has signed into law measures that dilute transparency and entrench incumbency:

· Weakened Oversight: Subjecting the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to greater political control.
· More Money in Politics: Doubling the maximum amount of money allowed in campaign contributions.
· Higher Ballot Barriers: Increasing the number of signatures required for candidates to secure a place on the ballot.
· Repealed Anti-Corruption Measures: Approving the repeal of key pay-to-play laws designed to prevent contractors from buying government influence.

“We see a consistent theme: making it easier for those in power to stay in power and harder for the public to hold them accountable,” said a political scientist at Rutgers University, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. “The refusal to pass Anti-SLAPP legislation is a key piece of that. It leaves activists and critics vulnerable to retaliation from deep-pocketed entities that often have ties to the political class.”

The establishment was handed a significant defeat in 2024 when a federal judge ruled New Jersey’s corrupt county-line ballot system unconstitutional, a system that heavily favored party-backed insiders.

However, weak enforcement of anti-bribery laws and the heavy influence of billionaires and power brokers who benefit from corporate welfare and government contracts continue to define the state’s politics.

Ostensibly a blue state, New Jersey’s Democratic establishment employs tactics familiar in red states, such as aggressive gerrymandering.

While Democrats typically win just over half of the total votes cast, they hold roughly 75 percent of the congressional seats and comfortable majorities in the state legislature.

Progressive critics argue this dominance has created a party that is loyal to its donors, not its voters.

McCormick points to a pattern of losing battles against Trump-era Republican policies on a national level, suggesting that the internal resistance is performative because both parties are ultimately funded by the same powerful interests.

“The lack of an Anti-SLAPP law isn’t a bug in the system; it’s a feature,” said McCormick. “It ensures that the people who can challenge the status quo—the grassroots organizers, the tenacious reporters, the concerned neighbors—can be easily sued into silence. It protects the powerful, and in New Jersey, the powerful are protected by both sides of the aisle.”

Until the legislature acts, free speech in the Garden State remains a right only for those who can afford to defend it.