Phil Murphy won the endorsement of the Democratic Party in the home county of one of his chief rivals, John Wisniewski.
EDISON -- New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy on Tuesday night easily won the endorsement of the Democratic Party in Middlesex County, the home of one of his chief rivals in the race, John Wisniewski -- but not before Wisniewski and another contender, Jim Johnson, boycotted the party's candidate forum.
Murphy, a millionaire former banking executive at Goldman Sachs who is considered the early front-runner in the Democratic primary to succeed Republican Gov. Chris Christie, nabbed 291 out of 300 votes when members of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization took a hand vote at the forum, according to a report by Politico New Jersey.
Activist Bill Brennan scored six votes at the event at Middlesex County College in Edison.
Wisniewski, who has represented parts of the county in the state Assembly for 21 years but who has often clashed with Democratic leaders there, took three votes.
Johnson, a former U.S. Treasury official, and state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), who also skipped the event, received no votes.
Grateful for support of 300+ grassroots members of @middlesexdems at tonight's candidates forum. Honored to stand with you this election! pic.twitter.com/1gvrJKv4Wk
-- Phil Murphy (@PhilMurphyNJ) February 22, 2017
@PhilMurphyNJ speaking about the need to grow NJ's economy and stabilize its middle class at tonight's Gov. Candidate Forum at MCC pic.twitter.com/swaUAZ8BeC
-- MCDO (@middlesexdems) February 22, 2017
The victory means Murphy, also former U.S. ambassador to Germany, will have his name at the top of the ballot in the county in June's Democratic primary.
The central Jersey county is New Jersey's second-most populated county, after Bergen. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 202,115 to 71,790 in the county, with 244,563 unaffiliated.
Murphy previously won endorsements from the Democratic parties in Bergen and Monmouth County.
But Tuesday was the latest example of backlash over Murphy's rise in the Democratic primary.
Wisniewski, who is campaigning as an outsider to Trenton politics despite his two decades in the Statehouse, said the process by which Middlesex County Democrats chose Murphy was unfair. He accused Chairman Kevin McCabe of eliminating a secret ballot vote and giving himself the sole power to choose who the committee endorsed to ensure that Murphy would win.
"It is all part of a larger campaign by a handful of party bosses to coronate one candidate, while harassing and intimidating anyone who dares to support any candidate other than their own," Wisniewski said in a letter to the committee explaining why he was boycotting. "Too many of our party's so-called leaders think our nomination for governor is for sale to the highest bidder. ... We've lost our way as a party."
McCabe dismissed the criticism, noting in a statement that Wisniewski -- a former state Demcoratic chairman -- has been a member of the local party for decades and that the organization has had the same endorsement process for 25 years.
"He never once complained about the bylaws as a former state chairman or an incumbent legislator," McCabe said. "Now, as he faces the possibility of losing the support of the county committee in his own county, he has decided to cast spurious allegations upon the open and transparent process in which he has participated for more than two decades."
Meanwhile, Johnson -- who is vowing to clean New Jersey politics of corruption and unethical behavior -- said he boycotted the event because it was open only to committee members and not all county residents.
"We cannot continue to drown out the voices of the people so that only the voices of a few, those of the party bosses and insiders, can be heard," Johnson said in a letter to McCabe. "We cannot remain committed to the same backroom deals and willful ignorance that brought us eight years of failed leadership in Trenton."
Lesniak said he is not attending any county conventions because many local party chairs have already endorsed Murphy.
"I'm focusing my campaign on grassroots support," the veteran state lawmaker told NJ Advance Media. "The party leaders have already decided their choice is Murphy."
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.