Tammy Murphy, New Jersey’s first lady and one of the leading candidates to replace indicted Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, abruptly ended her campaign on Sunday, warning of the impending election in a video posted to social media. He said that he did not want to split the party. The threat of a second presidential term for Trump.
“After a hectic, exhilarating, and certainly difficult few months, I am suspending my Senate campaign today,” Murphy said in a video posted to X.
“While I have consistently acted with integrity and based on the facts, it is clear that continuing in this race would involve running a very divisive negative campaign, which I do not want to do. No,” she continued.
“And with Donald Trump on the ballot and so much at stake for our country, I am not in good conscience going to waste my resources tearing apart my fellow Democrats.”
This surprising announcement immediately sent shock waves throughout the Garden State. Until recently, many thought the governor’s wife was preordained to succeed Mr. Menendez.
And it all but clears the way for her main opponent, Rep. Andy Kim, to win the Democratic nomination in the state’s June primary.
Although Murphy had the support of many county Democratic Party leaders, he remains an important player in New Jersey because Democrats often give popular candidates the “red line,” or top spot on the ballot. .
But Kim, a three-term congressman, pulled off several upsets in county commission votes across New Jersey, including defeating Murphy in his home state of Monmouth County.
She rallied to win several key contests, including the commission vote in Bergen County, the state’s most populous county.
But a sense of doom has pervaded her campaign of late, especially when Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop suddenly pulled his support from the first lady last week and threw it at an insurgent lawmaker. At the time, there was a sense of doom.
“I have been an early supporter of Tammy Murphy in the Senate, and it is no secret that I am disappointed in her campaign and the way she conducted it,” Fulop said in a statement.
“I have reiterated that publicly and privately over the past two months, but it is clear at this point that I was wrong to support and support Tammy Murphy in her early years as a senator,” he added.
“At this time, we do not believe it is in the state’s best interest for Tammy to continue campaigning.”
It is unclear how much influence Fulop’s change of heart had in Murphy’s decision to cancel the operation. But it certainly didn’t help her.
Mr. Fullop is widely considered a candidate to replace Gov. Phil Murphy, whose second term ends in January 2026.
Kim, a mild-mannered lawmaker who represents a large swath of south Jersey, was photographed cleaning up trash at the U.S. Capitol after insurrectionists occupied it on Jan. 6. It is well known for.
But he made a name for himself during the recent primary campaign by filing a federal lawsuit alleging that the state’s practice of awarding policies to specific candidates was unconstitutional.
That lawsuit is still pending.
Menendez has announced he will not run in the primary as a Democrat, but the federal corruption charges may not stop him from seeking re-election as an independent.
Meanwhile, jokes were made online about Murphy’s death.
“Scoop: Tammy Murphy has suspended her campaign.” #NJSenIt sent her fans into a frenzy,” says Raksha Jain, a software engineer involved in election modeling. splitticket.org, I made a joke in X’s post.
“If you’re someone who supports Tammy Murphy and has already landed some trumped-up commission jobs, that’s a pretty good deal.” Written by X user Noah Weihoff Rudnickreferring to the Garden State’s infamous habit of handing out no-show jobs to political supporters and donors.
Murphy said in a statement that it was important to stand up and do something because “Washington is not getting things done.”
“Instead of talking about process and politics, my campaign was about solutions for families and a vision for the next generation,” Murphy said. “New Jersey’s next senator must focus on the issues of our time and not become obsessed with defeating others while dividing our party and the people of our state. ”
“Now is a bad time, as we face grave and dangerous threats at the national level thanks to Donald Trump and far-right extremists. We’re not dividing.”
With AP wire
