NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy suspends Senate bid to replace Bob Menendez

Published Mar 24, 2024 at 4:31 p.m. ET

Modified Mar 24, 2024 at 5:11 p.m. ET

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Published Mar 24, 2024 at 4:31 p.m. ET

Modified Mar 24, 2024 at 5:11 p.m. ET

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New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy is dropping out of the race for U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Bob Menendez, she said on Sunday.

Her decision comes just four months after Murphy announced her campaign – and amid a bruising fight over the unusual ballot design that party bosses hoped would hand her an easy victory

“I have been genuine and factual throughout but it is clear to me that continuing in this race will involve waging a very divisive and negative campaign, which I am not willing to do,” Murphy said in a video statement released on social media.

Murphy was slated to have a huge institutional advantage in the primary against fellow frontrunner Rep. Andy Kim, both because of the considerable political sway her husband holds as governor of New Jersey, and because of an esoteric system known as the “county line.” But the county line and exceptional power of New Jersey’s political machines became central issues in the race, with Kim filing a federal lawsuit to stop its use before ballots went to voters.

In 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, candidates endorsed by the local political party are grouped together on a single column or row, which researchers say gives them an advantage at the ballot box that’s extremely difficult to overcome because it associates lesser-known candidates with well-known incumbents and high-profile leaders — for instance, President Joe Biden — at the head of the line. No other state uses such a system.

Kim won most of the conventions where the candidates competed for those endorsements and members voted by secret ballots — but in some of New Jersey’s largest and most Democrat-rich counties, the endorsements are simply awarded by party bosses who favored Murphy.

Because of that and her own convention wins, Murphy was slated to get preferential treatment on the ballots used by at least two-thirds of voters in the state.

Yet the primary race has seen a revolt among many rank-and-file Democratic delegates against the line, and what some progressives argued was a deck stacked in Murphy’s favor. In a stunning rebuke of Gov. Phil Murphy, the state attorney last week said he thinks the county line practice is unconstitutional, and wouldn’t defend it on behalf of the state.

Tammy Murphy and the political machinery supporting her have seen other key losses this week. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who’d once endorsed the first lady, switched his endorsement and urged her to drop out. Fulop had been considered a contender for governor in 2016, until he dropped out of the race as Phil Murphy secured county party endorsements and the favored ballot placement throughout the state.

“I told [Andy Kim] it’s not always comfortable to admit a mistake but clearly I made one here and this convention season has demonstrated he is the better candidate to represent NJ,” Fulop posted on social media. “The backbone of our party volunteers and activists have spoken loudly and we should listen to them.”

Despite receiving several personal endorsements from some of the state’s most powerful Democrats almost after originally announcing her bid, as well as several unions and other influential organizations since, she seemingly failed to keep that momentum going with Democratic voters. She performed poorly in the only statewide poll – scoring behind competitor, and fellow Dem, Rep. Andy Kim – and in several convention contests.

Last month, Kim stunned his competitor when he managed to score 20 points higher than Tammy Murphy in her own home county.

Menendez, who's been indicted on corruption and bribery charges, said last week he would not be running on the Democratic line in the race, saying he hopes to position himself as an independent instead.

The primary is set for June 4.

Tammy Murphy did not directly reference Kim – but said she planned to redirect her energy toward ensuring that Biden wins his current bid for reelection. She said the Democratic party needed to remain united ahead of November’s general election – and she did not want to encourage any division in a presidential election where Biden is expected to run against former President Donald Trump again.

“With Donald Trump on the ballot, and so much at stake for our nation, I will not, in good conscience, waste resources tearing down a fellow Democrat,” Tammy Murphy said in the video.

A Tammy Murphy representative did not comment further and referred only to the video posted on social media. Representatives Kim did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Gothamist.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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Giulia Heyward is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers politics and breaking news. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email gheyward@nypublicradio.org or Signal 917-715-1458.

After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.

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