Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. telegraphed today that he is prepared to back First Lady Tammy Murphy should she mount a run for the U.S. Senate, but stopped short of making any firm commitment.
“I don’t even know if she’s a candidate, but if she does decide to run, she’s a great candidate,” DiVincenzo told the New Jersey Globe. “I’m not going to make a decision right now, but I like Tammy a lot; first of all, she has to make up her mind, but I think today sent you some kind of signals.”
In the aftermath of the explosive indictment filed one week ago against three-term incumbent Bob Menendez and amid growing calls for his resignation, Murphy’s name has been floated as a potential candidate to either replace him or challenge him in the Democratic primary in 2024.
The scandal puts DiVincenzo in an uncomfortable spot: he’s been a close friend of Menendez’s for decades – he has not called for Menendez to resign — but also a political ally of Gov. Phil Murphy.
Essex County has more registered Democrats than any other county in the state, accounting for about 12% of New Jersey’s Democratic electorate. DiVincenzo and Essex County Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr. are the big decision-makers when awarding the Essex Democratic organization line; Jones also serves as Democratic State Chairman and is extraordinarily close to the governor.
Tammy Murphy joined the governor at a ribbon cutting for Essex County College’s new West Essex Campus, and DiVincenzo called her up to the podium to heap praise on her.
She has not yet publicly commented on her potential candidacy.
“She’s been overwhelmed and humbled,” the governor said. “Secondly, she and we are laser-focused on the legislative elections on November 7 — that’s where all our energies are; I was in South Jersey for that very reason last night. Thirdly, I’m sure if she’s got news to make, at some point, she’ll make it.”
The Murphys are dedicated to raising $1 million for Democrats running in this year’s elections. Tammy Murphy’s fundraising prowess has been one of the secret weapons of her husband’s political career.
For his part, Menendez has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence and defiantly insisted that he is not going anywhere. Despite this, Democratic officials have largely abandoned him, with most of his Senate colleagues and prominent Democrats in his home state calling for his resignation.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) announced on Saturday that he would challenge Menendez in the Democratic primary. He appears ready to remain in the Senate race regardless of what Murphy, Menendez, and others do.
Kim could be the first: other Democrats, such as Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), are not ruling out U.S. Senate runs.
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