EMILYs List, an organization dedicated to supporting pro-choice female Democratic candidates around the country, waded into New Jersey’s high-stakes Senate primary this morning with an endorsement of First Lady Tammy Murphy.
“Tammy Murphy is the leader who will fight for our rights in the U.S. Senate, and EMILYs List is proud to be standing by her in this race,” EMILYs List interim president Jessica Mackler said in a statement. “We know that if extremist Republicans get their way, they’ll ban abortion across the country, not just for New Jerseyans but for all Americans. Murphy will be our advocate in the Senate, and a pro-choice champion who will work to ensure that every American has access to the critical reproductive health care they need.”
Murphy is vying to become the first woman to ever represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate, but she’ll first have to get past several opponents in a very competitive Democratic primary for indicted Senator Bob Menendez’s seat.
Notably, while Murphy’s main opponent, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), is a man, another female candidate, activist Patricia Campos-Medina, is also in the race. EMILYs List will sometimes stay out of races if multiple women are running, but evidently decided in this case that Murphy has a much better shot of winning and thus is worth investing in.
Typically, the most important part of an EMILYs List endorsement is its effect on fundraising; the group adds endorsed candidates to its fundraising lists, and will sometimes spend heavily in certain races via its own independent expenditure arm. But Murphy, a longtime fundraiser for her husband who amassed more than $3 million in her first six weeks in the Senate race, may not need that kind of financial help as much as some other candidates.
Murphy is the third New Jersey congressional candidate to receive EMILYs List’s endorsement in the last week. The group is also supporting Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel) in the 3rd congressional district, which Kim is departing to run for Senate, and Sue Altman in the 7th congressional district, a swing seat currently held by Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).
If Altman and both Murphys (who are not related to one another) end up winning their respective races, the number of women in the New Jersey congressional delegation will more than double; currently, the state sends 12 men and just two women to Congress.
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2024 congressional contests.