Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., reportedly won New Jersey’s first lady Tammy Murphy in the state’s first Democratic convention on Saturday. And he did so by a large margin. The third-term congressman’s early victory against Murphy in Monmouth County was a big deal, but it is far from over.
They will continue to compete in the primary contest to convince other counties they are the best Democratic candidate to replace Sen. Bob Menendez. “If we can win here, where they’ve lived for decades here, I think it sends a very strong message across all of the counties,” Kim said about Murphy and her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy.
The powerful couple have been residents of Monmouth County for about 25 years. Meanwhile, Kim represents part of the same county in Congress. His win means he’s got the county line in Monmouth. This means his name will appear on the ballot in a single column with other Democratic candidates endorsed by the county.
Kim got 56.8% of the vote, while Murphy won 38.8%. The rest of the votes, about 4.2%, went to another candidate, progressive labor activist Patricia Campos-Medina. That means Kim had a 265-181 win in the convention, where there were 466 votes.
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Kim had underdog status, given the first lady’s high-profile status, fundraising power, and early support from county leaders. However, the same day she lost in Monmouth County, Murphy got an endorsement from the Passaic County Democrats.
Spokesperson Alex Altman said in a statement. “Tammy is grateful for all the votes she received today from Monmouth County and is thankful to all the delegates that stayed in the room during the long day.
Tammy congratulated Andy on a hard fought win today in Monmouth. And she looks forward to continuing her work to build a strong coalition across the state and earning the support of New Jersey voters.”
It looks like the June primary will be a battle between Kim and Murphy. However, other Democrats are campaigning in the race. On Friday, a former news reporter, Alex Zdan, 38, announced he would be running as a Republican in the race to replace Menendez.
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Last month, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., supported Kim’s bid to win the primary for New Jersey’s Senate seat. Fetterman was an early proponent of calling for Menendez’s ouster from Congress.
This came after Menendez, his wife, and business associates faced charges of accepting bribes for helping the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez and the other defendants pleaded not guilty, and the senator has promised to fight the charges.
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Unlike his first indictment, Menendez has lost support within the Democratic Party in his home state. In the past, his influence there was once unquestionable. While the struggle to succeed him is on, Menendez has not disclosed plans to run again. He has also so far withstood calls for his resignation.
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