Tammy Murphy Drops Out of New Jersey Senate Race
Her exit leaves U.S. Representative Andy Kim as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
In a truly surprising development, Tammy Murphy has decided to drop out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. She made the announcement in a video released on X (formerly Twitter) earlier today. The news comes a day ahead of the filing deadline to appear on the June 4 primary ballot.
Murphy’s exit comes just days after incumbent Senator Bob Menendez - who is currently under federal indictment on corruption charges - also shared that he wouldn’t be seeking the Democratic nomination this year. These developments leave U.S. Representative Andy Kim as the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination. He’s also expected to become the next Senator from New Jersey in the general election this fall given the state’s overall partisan lean in favor of Democrats.
Murphy has served as the First Lady of New Jersey since January 2018. Following Menendez’s October 2023 indictment, both Kim and Murphy quickly entered the contest to potentially succeed him. In the months since, both candidates have been competing across the state at the various county conventions to receive favorable ballot status on the “county line.” Of the state’s 21 counties, Murphy was victorious in nine while Kim prevailed in eight. The remaining four counties don’t issue an endorsement.
New Jersey is the only state in the nation that structures its ballot according to “county line” endorsements. It may not make much of a difference in a statewide contest where the voters are heavily informed about both major candidates. However, it’s more significant in down ballot races where candidates are largely selected by the county parties instead of open primaries. Nevertheless, the process for the Senate contest was dragged with accusations of nepotism to try to swing in favor of Murphy.
In the county conventions conducted with a secret open ballot, Kim cemented his status as a popular insurgent - producing several notable landslides. Meanwhile, several counties kept the convention to a limited process of party leadership - which heavily favored Murphy. Moreover, numerous stories emerged about the Murphy campaign courting key endorsements in exchange for her husband, Governor Phil Murphy, offering favorable terms in the state budget or appointments to state boards and commissions.
Furthermore, Kim filed a federal lawsuit claiming the “county line” system was unconstitutional. A one-day trial was conducted last week in front of U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi. A ruling has not yet been delivered in that case. If Kim is successful, then New Jersey will have to eliminate the system offering preferential status to some candidates in the ballot design while banishing others elsewhere.
With Murphy now leaving the race, the counties that previously awarded their lines to her now have the option to award the status to Kim instead for the primary ballot. In her video, Murphy notably didn’t endorse her opponent. That would still require some difficult choices by congressional candidates as the “county line” brackets its endorsements together. To accept that placement, each candidate has to endorse everyone else on the slate. That’s potentially troublesome in Hudson County where Kim previously planned on bracketing with Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalia in his primary challenge against Robert Menendez - the son of the indicted Senator - in the state’s 8th Congressional District.
Despite receiving establishment support from the state’s powerful political machine, Murphy always trailed Kim in every poll of the Senate race. That resulted in Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop switching his endorsement from Murphy to Kim last week. Notably, Fulop is one of three Democrats running for Governor of New Jersey in 2025 to replace Phil Murphy, who is term-limited.
Barring any additional changes, the Democratic primary for Senate in New Jersey will now feature Kim facing off against Patricia Campos-Medina, Larry Hamm and Patrick Merrill. Kim is the only candidate who has held elected office and received significant endorsements.
Over in the Republican contest, 10 candidates are seeking the nomination. Three have garnered the most interest so far - real estate developer Curtis Bashaw, Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner and former News 12 reporter Alex Zdan.
The indicted incumbent Senator Bob Menendez has also floated the possibility of running for re-election as an Independent. That would likely depend on the outcome of his federal trial which starts May 6. Four third-party candidates are already trying to appear on the general election ballot.