Stepping gingerly, trying to make sure he didn’t chest thump or gloat, channeling equal parts furrowed brow and friendly analytical attentiveness at the War Memorial, Governor Phil Murphy took a shot at threading the needle between his campaign’s outrage over Republican Jack Ciattarelli’s insistence on staying in a race he lost and Murphy’s fellow Democrat Steve Sweeney’s stubborn unwillingness to bow out of his own losing contest.

Murphy distinguished between the knowledge he has on his race and Sweeney’s race.

The statement from his campaign this morning came from what he knows about “our race. I know the math. I don’t know the math on Steve’s race. My understanding is at least there was a shot [for Sweeney to overtake Republican victor Ed Durr].

“There is no shot [for Ciattarelli] in our race,” he added.

“The Senate president deserves… I don’t know his race in terms of the numbers of votes, but I think he thinks he has a mathematical shot. We should have the respect to have that play out.”

The governor made his comments at his COVID-19 information press conference, where he handled another question about his party coming together behind the candidacy of Nick Scutari to succeed Sweeney as senate president.

The party leadership in Trenton consists of three white males: Sweeney, Speaker Craig Coughlin and Murphy.

Scutari would supplant Sweeney, even as this weekend state Senator Nia Gill (D-34) announced her candidacy for the senate presidency, citing the need for diversity at the State Capitol.

“We’re the most diverse state in America,” Murphy said. “We should have a state that reflects that in terms of leadership.”

He bragged about putting together a diverse cabinet.

He controls the front office, he noted, not the senate.

“I don’t control the process of who’s the senate president or who’s the speaker,” the governor said. “Speaker Coughlin will continue to be in the seat.

“I don’t want to imply the process is mine to control,” Murphy added.