(IntegrityTimes.com) – New Jersey’s first lady Tammy Murphy, who is running as a Democrat for the United States Senate, suffered another loss in the race on February 25. Her top opponent is Democratic Representative Andy Kim, who has represented New Jersey’s third congressional district since 2019. The seat up for grabs currently belongs to Democratic Senator Bob Menendez. However, he is facing a host of corruption charges from the Department of Justice and has not announced if he plans to run for reelection. He was removed from his committee assignments after his first indictment and his case is scheduled to go to trial in May.
Murphy’s defeat came when Kim won the Hunterdon County convention, his third consecutive victory in the state. A brief moment of chaos erupted during the convention after the county Democratic chair suggested a change to the endorsement rules. A known Murphy supporter, the chair proposed candidates share the county line ballot positioning if they received 30 percent of votes cast during the convention. She said the proposal was brought up because Kim and two other candidates in the race sent a letter requesting the change. Delegates became angry and began cussing and yelling. The proposal was soundly rejected by a hand vote but would have created positive optics for Murphy if it had passed. Notably, Kim came out against the proposal on the day of the convention.
Kim’s name will now appear in the same column on the ballot as candidates who have been endorsed by the Democratic Party. He received 64 percent of the vote, while Murphy received just 33 percent. Neither candidate is politically connected to Hunterdon County, and no Democrat has been elected to a countywide office since the early 1980s. Of the state’s 21 counties, it is the fourth smallest by population. Kim also won the Burlington County convention, which is where he was raised and is part of the third congressional district that he represents. His other victory came in Monmouth County, which is also part of his district, but notably where Murphy has lived for more than 20 years.
Copyright 2024, IntegrityTimes.com
