Home>Campaigns>Fulop switches his support from Murphy to Kim in U.S. Senate race

Gov. Phil Murphy, left, and Jersey Mayor Steve Fulop. (Photo: Steve Fulop).

Fulop switches his support from Murphy to Kim in U.S. Senate race

Jersey City mayor says he moved too quickly, that Kim ‘has proven that he’s the better candidate’

By David Wildstein, March 18 2024 8:00 am

Saying he made a mistake, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has rescinded his endorsement of Tammy Murphy, urging her to drop out of the race, and will instead back Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) for U.S. Senate.

“After watching the county conventions, I believe that Andy Kim has proven that he’s the better candidate, with a clearer message, and he brings a better chance of success in November,” Fulop said.  “At this point, I don’t think it’s in the state’s best interest for Tammy to continue her campaign. As the Mayor of Jersey City, I’ll do what I think is right and advocate for Andy Kim to my constituents as the best choice as the next U.S. Senator.”

Fulop is one of three announced candidates for governor next year when Gov. Phil Murphy is term-limited.  While many of his supporters are backing Kim, Fulop and the rest of the Hudson County political establishment endorsed Murphy on the day she announced her Senate run last November.

Now, he’s acknowledged that he moved too quickly.

“It’s never easy to admit when mistakes are made, but I should have waited longer before endorsing,” said Fulop, the mayor of the state’s second-largest city.  “Clearly, this campaign has become a catalyst for the backbone of the Democratic Party to be saying loud and clear that things need to change in New Jersey. I agree with them.”

Fulop and Kim share the same position on organization lines: they oppose them.  Fulop called for the dissolution of lines last October and said earlier this year that he would not seek lines in the 2025 gubernatorial race if other major candidates joined him.

In recent weeks, as Kim has accumulated secret ballot convention victories in eight counties, Fulop has been openly critical of the Murphy campaign.

“It’s no secret I’ve been disappointed with the campaign and how it has been conducted,” he said. “I’ve expressed that over the last two months repeatedly both privately and publicly, and at this point, it’s clear to me that I was wrong with my early support and endorsement of Tammy Murphy for Senate.”

Fulop sharply criticized Camden County Democrats for denying another U.S. Senate candidate, Patricia Campos-Medina, access to their county committee meeting after a video showed five men blocking her on Saturday.

“There is really no way to defend this, even in the world of New Jersey politics, and I’m disappointed that Tammy Murphy hasn’t commented publicly (or) taken any action distancing herself from this,” Fulop said on social media yesterday.  “There is no rational way to defend it nor benefit from it.”

The decision to switch his support in the Senate race came one day after Attorney General Matt Platkin told a federal judge he viewed the state’s county organization line as unconstitutional and declined to defend it in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by Kim seeking to abolish the organization lines this morning.

See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2024 congressional contests.

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