Andy Kim says he supports open, line-free primary for Senate

Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), a top contender for the U.S. Senate in 2024, said today that he would support nullifying the county organizational line next year and having all Senate candidates appear on the ballot as equals.

“The people of New Jersey are demanding a fair choice on their ballot without anyone’s thumb on the scale,” Kim spokesperson Katey Sabo said in a statement. “Given the unprecedented nature of this Senate race and the need to ensure trust in the nominating process, every candidate in this Senate Democratic primary race should agree to appear separate on the ballot from other federal, state, and local races.”

Kim’s stance isn’t hugely surprising, given that he has previously called for abolishing the county line, a unique system in New Jersey that allows political parties in most counties to group all of their endorsed candidates together in one column or row. His new statement, though, further cements him as one of the few prominent New Jersey politicians to push back on the county line system.

Also not surprisingly, Kim’s main primary opponent, First Lady Tammy Murphy, is declining to issue a similar call. Murphy, who already has party support in many counties, implied that Kim is only asking for a line-free primary because he’d otherwise be stuck running off-the-line across much of the state.

“Congressman Kim has said he will use every tool at his disposal to win this election, and that includes his actively seeking the county lines in this primary – the only difference is that Tammy has been thrilled to earn that support from Democratic party leaders,” Murphy spokesperson Alex Altman said. “They know that she will be there to fight for them in Washington, just as she has right here in New Jersey.”

The back-and-forth over the line was instigated by the Fair Ballot Alliance, a coalition of state progressive groups, which held a press conference earlier today to call on every Senate candidate of both parties to disavow the line for the 2024 primary.

Needless to say, the line will almost certainly remain in place next year, a reality that both Kim’s and Murphy’s campaigns are prepared for. Murphy will likely get support in most of the state’s large urban counties, while smaller counties with more progressive local organizations could feature highly competitive convention fights between her and Kim; indicted incumbent Bob Menendez is set to get no party support anywhere if he runs for re-election.