Tammy Murphy dropping out appears to open door to N.J. Rep. Andy Kim to win Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate
UNION COUNTY, N.J. -- New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy has suspended her U.S. Senate campaign race.
Political analysts say the move clears the way for South Jersey Congressman Andy Kim to get the Democratic nomination.
"After many busy, invigorating, and, yes, challenging months, I am suspending my Senate campaign today," Murphy said Sunday.
A Message from Tammy pic.twitter.com/dfl7kPUUej
— Tammy Murphy (@TammyMurphyNJ) March 24, 2024
She chose the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce she's choosing not to seek the nomination in June.
"It is clear to me continuing in this race will involve waging a very divisive and negative campaign, which I am not willing to do," Murphy said.
The move comes almost a week after CBS New York met up with Kim at federal court. He was asking a judge to get rid of New Jersey's county-line ballot system, saying it gave the first lady preferential treatment because of her husband's status as governor.
"A number of these county chairs never returned my phone calls, never gave me a chance. So right out of the gate there was certainly unfairness to that system," Kim said.
On Sunday, Kim told reporters on the phone, "This campaign, we have gone through a lot so far and we still have a lot more to go.""
Peter Woolley, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said his school's polling found Murphy faced an uphill battle.
"I suspect that she concluded, as well as people around her, that [the public] was going to rebound negatively on her and on Phil Murphy, the governor," Woolley said.
Union organizer Patricia Campos Medina is also running on the Democratic side, as Robert Menendez, the man who holds the seat now, faces corruption charges. The senator vowed last week to keep on fighting.
"I am hopeful that exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election," Menendez said.
Businessman Curtis Bashaw and Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano-Glassner are seeking the Republican nomination.
"The cost of gasoline, the cost of groceries, it is really crippling people and it is making life very difficult and so I'm working with President Trump 100% to make sure we get Republicans voted up and down the ballot," Serrano-Glassner said.
As for Tammy Murphy, insiders told CBS New York her campaign would have been an expensive one even if she had partly funded it herself.