An interview with Tammy Murphy

First Lady Tammy Murphy announced this morning that she will run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, putting her on a collision course with indicted Senator Bob Menendez and another challenger, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).

The New Jersey Globe spoke with Murphy about her reasons for running, the contrasts between herself and her two opponents, and why she thinks New Jersey should elect its own First Lady to the Senate.

NJ Globe: I’ll start out with the obvious question: why are you running? What is the cornerstone of your campaign?

Tammy Murphy: I’m running because I literally believe that our families and our kids deserve better. Over the last six years, we’ve really worked hard here in New Jersey to make this a better place to live, and a better place to work and to raise a family. I personally have taken leadership roles in two areas: infant and maternal health as well as climate change education. And in both spaces, we have implemented nation-leading programs. Those are very, very tough topics, and that’s why I bring them up. They are not small fights. 

So I take a step back and, honestly, I look at the world right now, and I see two major wars across two different continents that I personally believe are being manipulated by about four bad actors. I could not bring myself to follow the number of mass shootings after we got to 580 this year. I look at climate change and degradation. I look at the topics that are so important to me that I just talked about, infant and maternal health. And I then look at Washington D.C., and I see a lot of dysfunction. I see a need to lean in, and I think it’s a moment in time where it’s all hands on deck.

One name that you’re not mentioning in that is the incumbent, whom you’re technically running against for now: Bob Menendez, who was indicted in September. Are his troubles a major focus of your campaign? Is that part of why you wanted to enter this race?

Listen, his indictments are extremely serious and well-documented. I do believe that New Jerseyans deserve someone who is fully focused on our state, and personally, I’m not sure that he is capable of doing that at this present time.

Do you regret your support for Senator Menendez back when he was running for re-election in 2018? Obviously that was before this current indictment, but still.

He’s done a lot of good work for New Jersey, but these new charges are so serious, implicating national security and the justice system, that I just don’t think he should represent our state.

There’s another candidate who is also making that same case: Congressman Andy Kim, who’s been in the Senate race for two months now. What are your contrasts with the congressman? What do you bring to this campaign, what do you bring to the table, that he doesn’t?

First of all, it has got to be said that Andy is someone who I have supported and helped elect as congressman, and I really appreciate his public service. We both agree that we need new leadership in the Senate, and I do think I am the right person for this moment. I’ve never backed down from a challenge. I’m a problem solver with a record of results.

Do you see any policy differences between yourself and the congressman that you might emphasize for voters?

Listen, I am a proud Democrat, and I suspect that Andy and I stand for a lot of the same policies. However, I have very deep experience in several areas that I think will really benefit me, should I be privileged enough to go to Washington D.C. and represent our state. I will tell you that I sat down with some people around the state as I was considering this; I looked at what my skillset was, and why people were so interested in asking me to do this. And it’s very clear that I match up very well with the requirements of being a successful U.S. senator.

That’s a good segue into my next question, which is that even before your campaign launched, I definitely saw some pre-campaign attacks about, well, why is the First Lady running for this office, why would a first-time candidate be our U.S. senator. I’m sure that’s only going to increase now that you’re actually running. What’s your response to that? Do you think that’s a valid line of criticism, that you haven’t run for elected office before and suddenly you’re being vaulted into this very prominent role?

I don’t have D.C. experience – I have New Jersey experience. And I would just say to you that whatever is happening in D.C. isn’t working, so more people with D.C. experience is probably not what we need here and now. 

The way I see it, a senator does need to have three things, and I will give you those three. I think a senator needs to know and care about the issues on the ground impacting their state. I can absolutely check that box. I think they need to understand that public service is about the people, and not yourself. I can also check that box. And I think that they need to have the grit and the determination to solve problems that are facing their constituents, some of our very biggest challenges. And I would say to you, you can check that box, too. I have personally had a career in finance and worked internationally for years, and as First Lady I’ve been a problem solver who gets results for New Jersey families. So I not only have my own policy portfolio, but I have the grit and determination to get results, and I’m not a Washington D.C. insider.

One other first that you would make is, if elected, you’d be New Jersey’s first-ever female senator. What are your thoughts on that legacy of male-dominated politics in New Jersey?

It’s actually pretty stunning to me that New Jersey has never sent a woman to Washington [in the Senate], given the state and the fabric of the state. It’s absolutely important to me. I think that we need women, and we need good mentors, in leadership positions. We need people who will support and encourage those behind them to lean in and step up. But I am here, and I’m showing up and I’m turning up, because I want to represent working families and children. And I want to help them find a way to have faith in our system and believe in our future.

Obviously this election will ultimately be decided by a lot of those working families, a lot of those everyday voters. But you’re already likely to get support from a lot of the most powerful people in New Jersey politics, a lot of the party leaders and top Democratic officials. Do you think that’s the right way to be going about this, so long before voters decide? Do you think that party leaders should have that kind of power?

I would just tell you that my campaign is going to be a broad coalition. I am going to go into communities, I’m going to meet with people; I want to hear their concerns, I want to hear their issues. And I want them to ask me the tough questions, and I want to be able to have conversations. At the end of the day, I want to be the best representative, channeling voices from New Jersey, that I can possibly be. If I should, along the way, be honored to have [support from] some of the people across our state who have worked hard for decades to build a strong Democratic Party, then I would be exactly that: honored.

A little bit of a follow-up to that: when Phil Murphy first ran for governor in 2017, a big part of his campaign that year was pretty substantial self-funding. Is that something that you and the governor are planning on doing for this campaign as well?

I have zero intention.

As you’ve noted throughout this interview, you’ve been a pretty active First Lady. You’re not someone who’s just sat in the background for your six years. How will you, over the next seven months and potentially beyond, balance that First Lady’s role with running a Senate campaign and potentially even being a senator?

Nothing that is worth doing comes easy. I have a lot of energy. I will know when I need to wear the hat as the First Lady and when I don’t. But one of my big concerns as I was deliberating about whether to take this step or not was, I did not want any of my policy pieces, or any of the promises that I’ve made heretofore – I did not want to find that they might fall through the cracks. And I have satisfied myself that I have a way forward to make sure that I continue to deliver results for the state of New Jersey and for the people who are counting on me, and I will make sure it happens.