U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been facing calls to resign ever since a flurry of federal indictments, including an accusation of acting as an unregistered agent for the Egyptian government.
The Democrats worried about Menendez’s electoral prospects. Now, they’ve tapped the state’s first lady to replace him… and to close a pickup opportunity for the GOP.
On Wednesday, New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy became the best-known candidate to enter the Democratic primary.
“We need a senator who will work every single day to lower the cost of living, protect abortion rights, end the gun violence epidemic, and defend our democracy,” she said in a roughly four-minute-long video posted online.
Murphy, 58, is a native of Virginia, and she settled in New Jersey after landing a job on Wall Street.
She’s a constant presence at events alongside her husband, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. As first lady, she’s spoken about maternal and infant health, and she highlighted those issues in her announcement.
However, Murphy was also named in a gender discrimination lawsuit this year brought by state troopers from her husband’s security detail. The suit alleges that Tammy Murphy denied a trooper the use of a carriage house on Murphy’s property to pump breast milk.
In a statement this week, Murphy denied the allegations as “outrageous and categorically false.”
A former Republican, Tammy Murphy has spoken about growing up in a conservative part of Virginia and has previously donated to the GOP. She became a Democrat before her husband’s run for office.
It remains unclear whether he only intends to serve the rest of his term or whether he intends to run for re-election.
Take a look at her announcement —
I’m Tammy Murphy and I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for New Jersey, our families and our democracy.
Will you join me? https://t.co/Jdx8gPviS8 pic.twitter.com/husjszmlBC
— Tammy Murphy (@TammyMurphyNJ) November 15, 2023
However, Democrats picked up at least five seats in the Assembly in this year’s elections.
The first lady campaigned alongside the governor to increase their party’s legislative majorities this year. In New Jersey, a number of key county party chairmen set candidate ballot positions, and support from the county party frequently leads to electoral success.
Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, expects the well-connected Tammy Murphy to have an advantage over the other Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Andy Kim is also running to replace Menendez. In fact, Kim announced his campaign the day after the indictment. “NJ deserves better,” Kim tweeted in September.
Patricia Campos-Medina, a political activist and labor leader, said she is also considering a run on the Democratic side and that she’s heard from people that they’re concerned about the possibility of losing a Latino voice in the U. S. Senate (Menendez’s family comes from Cuba, and the senator himself has explained his liking for gold as a reaction to Cuba’s wealth confiscation.) She also said she thinks it’s a moment of worker activism and, like Tammy Murphy, an opportunity to stand up for women’s reproductive rights.
On the GOP side, U.S. Rep Jeff Van Drew has publicly expressed interest in running for Senate.
“I will be making that consideration,” Van Drew told Save Jersey in September. “I believe this is a unique opportunity for New Jersey Republicans to elect a Conservative leader to the Senate who truly believes in the values of the working people of this great state.”
Plus, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, another Republican, has already declared.
Menedez hasn’t said whether he’ll seek reelection in 2024 but said after being indicted that he’s “not going anywhere.” He has pleaded not guilty.
Some liberals have urged Menendez to step aside specifically to nix any possibility of a GOP victory. They view Menendez as electorally vulnerable.
Recently, the Republicans have overperformed in New Jersey. In 2021, an unknown Republican won an election over the New Jersey Senate president, a 20-year incumbent. This year, the Democrats picked up at least five seats in the Assembly in this year’s midterm legislative elections, a boon for the governor.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.