Go past the talk about casinos, cranberries or any other cliche comment you want to make about South Jersey, a region long misunderstood by the rest of the state. On Wednesday, the region got a new business calling card: The place in the state with the most potential.

Gov. Phil Murphy offered as much at an event by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey at the Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic.

“When you look at the ceiling of potential, the ceiling is highest in South Jersey,” he said.

“In other words, while we do an enormous amount in North and Central Jersey, a lot of the potential has been eaten into. When you’re as densely present as we are, whether it’s industry or transportation or broadband, you name it, you’ve chopped through a lot of the wood that you’re going to chop through.

“There’s still a lot of wood yet to be chopped through in South Jersey.”

To be sure, Murphy was in the region for a fireside chat detailing his efforts there over the past eight years. You would expect such compliments.

But these words went a little farther, at least that was the take of Chamber CEO Christina Renna — who was thrilled that someone acknowledged what South Jersey folks have been thinking for years.

“The Chamber has been saying for years that South Jersey is the state’s hidden gem,” she said. “Now, more and more people are starting to realize that we have the most land, we have a lower cost of living, we have easy access to the DC-New York corridor, we have less congestion and all the room to grow.”

Renna said there’s long been a belief that South Jersey has not received its due in Trenton — whether that’s because their numbers are so much smaller than Central and North Jersey or whether their unique needs are not understood.

In fact, in February of 2024, the Chamber put out a well-received 32-page white paper intended to explain to statewide legislators how the South Jersey region is different from the rest of the state.

“A Busy Policymaker’s Guide to Understanding a Misunderstood Region,” it was dubbed.

And this June, the chamber produced a well-received op-ed on why the region deserved dedicated funding for transportation issues — detailing how its companies paid $90 million because of the corporate transit fee, even though the region did not have any projects directly related to CTF projects.

The dollars clearly did not add up.

Murphy came to AC with his laundry list of good deeds he has done for the region. He talked about commitments to public safety in Atlantic City, work to increase entrepreneurship and startups throughout the region and the state’s effort to lure the Sixers from Philadelphia to Camden — a long shot to be sure, but one Camden had earned the right to make because of its progress.

He also came with the announcement of a commitment of more than $5 million to fund much-needed transportation projects.

“I committed way back when I was running that I would be a South Jersey governor,” he said. “And I think if you look at the record in totality, I think we’ve achieved that.

“That’s not to say we’re perfect. It’s not to say we went undefeated, but we’ve done a lot.”

Murphy then seemingly offered a challenge to his successor to keep up the efforts, saying other administrations had not paid enough attention to the region.

“There’s no excuse for that,” he said.

Renna and others were quick to point out that the last two governors have been good to the region (Gov. Christie certainly was a champion). And with Andy Kim now in the U.S. Senate, South Jersey has a voice there, too.

But Renna said the region needs more champions, especially in the Legislature.

“It’s no secret that South Jerseyans have a chip on our shoulder because we have historically felt ignored by Trenton policy makers,” she said “Is there truth to that? That’s in the eye of the beholder.

“But having the governor come down and talk about all that he’s done for the region — and seemingly encourage his successor to do the same — certainly was nice to hear.”

The next step is converting words into new businesses and new residents.

Renna feels the region sells itself.

“The more people start to realize how much South Jersey has to offer, the more looks South Jersey is going to get,” she said.