U.S. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has endorsed Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) for a Senate seat in New Jersey; the endorsement was first reported this morning by the New York Times.
“Congressman Andy Kim is a man of integrity and deep honor,” Fetterman said in a statement. “We’ve seen that in his leadership — in the Obama administration and in Congress. We saw it when he rolled up his sleeves to clean up our Capitol after the January 6th insurrection. And we’re seeing it now, taking on powerful political bosses as he fights to restore integrity to the Senate.”
Kim is running for the seat currently held by indicted Senator Bob Menendez, whom Fetterman has mercilessly attacked as a crook. Fetterman has been more outspoken than any of his Senate colleagues in opposing Menendez, and has repeatedly called for Menendez to be formally expelled.
But Menendez has been damaged enough politically by the federal charges levied against him that he’s unlikely to be a serious threat if he chooses to run for re-election this year. Instead, Kim’s main Democratic primary opponent is First Lady Tammy Murphy, whom Fetterman criticized over her past Republican voter registration.
Fetterman told the New York Times this morning that Murphy was likely “a lovely woman, but the last time I had to deal with a Republican from New Jersey, that was my own race” – referencing the 2022 election he won against Mehmet Oz, a Bergen County resident who moved to Pennsylvania to run for Senate.
Also endorsing Kim are six Democratic House members from Philadelphia and its surrounding areas: Reps. Brendan Boyle, Dwight Evans, Madeleine Dean, Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan, and Susan Wild. They’re the first of Kim’s House colleagues to back him for Senate (outside of New York Rep. Grace Meng, who endorsed Kim via her PAC for Asian American congressional candidates).
Murphy, by contrast, has the support of six of Kim’s New Jersey colleagues; Reps. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark), and Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) all endorsed her soon after she launched her campaign.
The sharp split between the New Jersey and Pennsylvania delegations is indicative of a broader divide in how the race between Kim and Murphy is seen inside and outside New Jersey. Within the tightly sealed world of New Jersey politics, Murphy is the clear establishment choice, and most prominent Democrats have quickly lined up to ratify that choice – but national groups and Democrats from other states feel no similar obligation, and many are backing Kim instead.
Murphy, though, does have the support of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was elected the same year as Fetterman, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2024 congressional contests.
This story was updated at 2:49 p.m. with a statement from Fetterman.