EDISON – Barnstorming the state on the day before the election, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy stopped by the Royal Albert Palace Monday evening to make his closing argument to the South Asian community against the backdrop of a fierce and racially divided local election.

“I don’t just want to be here when I need you,” Murphy – standing between two giant-sized banners with his smiling face on them, told the crowd, “I want you to know I’ll be here when you need me.”

That won a big round of applause on the heels of Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac introducing Murphy.

“This is a political rally – not a wake,” hollered the veteran mayor.

The men know each other going back to the Acting Governor Dick Codey Administration in 2005. Murphy would later identify McCormac as the person in New Jersey politics whom he knows best – along with his staunch ally Codey.

McCormac celebrated what he said is Middlesex County’s return to political relevance after about 12 years in the post-McGreevey/Lynch freezer. The mayor credited Murphy and Democratic Party Chairman Kevin McCabe for the resurgence.

But there were jittery signs of a less than enthusiastic suburban electorate in this sprawling Central Jersey county, and not just in the massive room here colorfully piled with balloons and enlivened by ceremonial dancers, but also pockmarked with a lot of empty tables.

In his remarks onstage this evening, fronting chairs filled with the likes of Edison Mayor Tom Lankey, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-33), and others, Murphy leaned on racially-charged flyers circulating in Edison and Hoboken. Police are investigating, but have not yet turned up the culprit(s).

“We’ve got to get it right,” Murphy said. “We’ve got awful behavior up here. I’m sure you’ve seen these awful mailers going around saying to deport a Chinese and Indian American candidate. We saw this on Friday in Hoboken with [Mayoral candidate] Ravi Bhalla: ‘don’t let these terrorists take over Hoboken .’ It’s awful, despicable stuff.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the ad my opponent is running against me that implies I’m going to have the backs of criminals when I want the backs of dreamers,” Murphy added. “So these are awful times folks, and we have to stick together.”