Cory Booker, Justin Murphy split on Iran war, economy during US Senate debate

[2026 election Voter Guide: Who is running in this November’s midterm elections?]

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Republican challenger Justin Murphy met Thursday evening for a cordial debate that revealed two candidates with sharply diverging views on the Iran war and the economy.

Murphy, an attorney, endorsed President Donald Trump’s decision to wage war on Iran, citing the risk of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ repression and support of terrorism in the region.

“The president is right to do this, folks. We cannot continue to do this. We have to stop and think if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon — what an unbelievable, unmitigated disaster that would be. They will use it if they obtain one,” Murphy said. “We are right to do what we’re doing. Stay the course.”

Trump should put his “cowboy hat on and get out there and kick some ass and get this done,” he added.

Booker, whose cash advantage over his challenger is best measured in magnitudes, said he would push to end the war, and that military force should be reserved as a last resort used only after diplomacy fails.

The Iranian lockdown of the Strait of Hormuz prompted by the invasion aggravated the cost-of-living crisis, Booker said, likening the invasion to the nation’s past lengthy and costly engagements in the Middle East.

“This is the kind of yahoo cowboy foreign policy that has mired us in Middle Eastern war after Middle Eastern war. With false bravado, we are saying we’re just going to go in there and kick ass,” Booker said. “You know what that’s done to the treasury of our country? $8 trillion spent in foreign wars in the Middle East, and none of them have ended well.”

Booker is seeking his third full term in the U.S. Senate next month. Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s second term.

The candidates also clashed about the U.S. economy.

The Iran war and Trump’s tariffs have foisted thousands of dollars in new costs on New Jerseyans, Booker said.

“Costs across the board have gone up, as I said, between $4,000 and $5,000 for the average family, but for other families, they see their healthcare costs go up and skyrocket. For those small businesses that rely on costs being down for fuel, they’re paying higher and higher prices,” Booker said.

Murphy, a U.S. Navy veteran, praised Trump’s handling of the economy, noting our poverty rate declined to 10.2% last year, the lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking the statistic in 1959. The declines also brought child poverty to historic lows.

“I’m proud that the Republican Party is worried about the next generation of Americans, to know that they will have the American dream — expanding economy, a manufacturing resurgence, falling interest rates,” Murphy said. “We have the highest median household income now in American history and the lowest poverty rate and the lowest child poverty rate in our country’s history.”

The nation had about 41,000 fewer manufacturing jobs last month than in December 2024, according to Federal Reserve data, which in September unanimously raised interest rates for the first time in three years and signaled more rate hikes were likely before the end of the year.

Both candidates said they want new limits on tech giants who’ve seen their influence balloon amid the artificial intelligence race and broad adoption of social media.

Murphy said he wants to limit the private companies’ ability to control speech on their platforms, calling it a First Amendment issue. He also objected to term limits, arguing elections are a sufficient check.

“You should never have term limits. I oppose them because the American people are the term limit,” Murphy said.

Neither candidate pledged to back their own party’s current Senate leadership. Both said they would discuss the matter with other members if elected.

In an unusual turn, the debate hosted by the New Jersey Globe at Rider University saw both candidates largely eschew attacks on the other in favor of stating their political beliefs, though Veronica Fernandez, an independent candidate who failed to meet debate qualification thresholds, made a brief outburst from the audience before police escorted her out.

At the debate’s outset, Murphy acknowledged the long odds he faces on the path to win the U.S. Senate. New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the upper chamber since 1972, and this year’s political environment is viewed broadly as unfavorable to Republicans.

The two candidates fully agreed on one thing: Murphy has the better hair.

“I’ll stipulate at the beginning: I’m jealous of his hair,” Booke said at the debate’s outset.

“Let’s get this out of the way now: No hair jokes tonight. I’ve got to put up with enough of them,” Murphy said.

The night saw about half a dozen hair jokes overall.

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