The Eastern Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters today endorsed First Lady Tammy Murphy for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
The Carpenters is one of New Jersey’s most politically potent labor unions and comes with significant financial resources and boots on the ground for a Democratic primary.
This is Murphy’s first labor endorsement.
“Tammy Murphy has always been a champion for New Jersey’s working families,” said William Sproule, the union president. “In the Senate, we know that Tammy Murphy will continue to be a partner in the fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, benefits, and retirement security for workers and their families. She will be a fierce advocate for protecting the union way of life from those who look to undermine it.”
The Carpenters have close ties to all three potential candidates in the June Senate primary: they had been strong supporters of incumbent Bob Menendez in his previous statewide races and endorsed Rep. Andy Kim in his 2020 and 2022 congressional re-election bids. The union also backed Murphy’s husband, Gov. Phil Murphy, in his two statewide runs.
Menendez is under indictment on federal corruption charges and has not yet announced if he will seek re-election this year.
“Unions are the backbone of a strong economy and a real middle class, and I am so grateful to be recognized by the Carpenters and earn their endorsement in this campaign, Murphy stated. “We have already worked hard to make New Jersey a better state to live, work, and raise a family – and that includes supporting our unions at all costs – and that’s exactly what I’ll do in the United States Senate.”
Kim has been endorsed by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the first union endorsement of the New Jersey Senate race.
For a full list of endorsements in the 2024 Senate race, see here.