At yesterday’s meeting of the Camden County Democratic Committee, First Lady Tammy Murphy won the party endorsement for U.S. Senate, which was inevitable the moment South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross backed her campaign last year.
What was more notable was the fact that two of her opponents, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and Patricia Campos-Medina, were not allowed at the committee meeting at all. Kim said he had requested several times to be allowed to speak and was refused, while Campos-Medina showed up without an invitation and was denied entry.
Asked about the dustup today, Murphy declined to disapprove of the Camden Democrats’ tactics, saying that she had no hand in the decision and she was focused on her own campaign.
“You’ll have to talk to Camden,” Murphy said. “I think we all have been playing by the same rules in the counties. We’re all showing up and trying to do our best. Some of us have a better chance in some counties, and some have a better chance in other counties.”
“It’s just the way it is,” she continued. “There’s not much more I can say. Obviously, I think we all need to be able to compete, and that’s what we’re all trying to do, whatever the rules are. As rules get reformed, that’s great. If we’re reforming them for the better, great. But for now, I’m so much more focused on the policy and being able to really hear people.”
Kim, meanwhile, harshly criticized Camden Democrats for not letting himself and Campos-Medina make their case to local Democrats, even if Murphy was likely to win the party endorsement regardless.
“When Patricia shows up and is right there at the building, how do you not let a Senate candidate into the building to just at least be able to say a few words?” Kim said. “She wasn’t asking for much, I’m guessing just a few minutes of their time. I requested to be able to attend that meeting and was rejected and denied. I just don’t understand it.”
Campos-Medina similarly said she believed Camden Democrats’ behavior was out of line.
“It’s tough enough to be a woman in NJ politics with its history of harassment and intimidation, but to be confronted by five men who did not have any IDs or credentials to stop me at the Camden County Democrats Committee meeting is bullying and harassment and is unacceptable behavior,” Campos-Medina said. “That’s why we need more women in politics to change the Democratic Party. And to achieve that, we must abolish the line.”
Kim’s campaign has focused heavily on doing away with the party line, the ballot design system that gives party endorsements like the one awarded by Camden Democrats special weight on New Jersey primary ballots. He’s filed a lawsuit seeking to abolish the line that will be heard tomorrow; just today, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said he will not intervene on behalf of the line, a major victory for Kim and other anti-line advocates.
But Kim has still been able to win county conventions in places where open conventions are held, including today’s convention in Atlantic County, which is part of Norcross’s orbit but which Kim won 74%-26% over Murphy. Kim argued that open conventions like Atlantic showed how much momentum there is behind his campaign – and that closed processes like Camden show what’s wrong with New Jersey politics.
“I think that’s what’s really angering a lot of Democrats across New Jersey right now,” Kim said. “This goes against our message of protecting democracy, it goes against our message of being the party that is about integrity and the party that is about the people. I certainly hope that this changes as soon as possible.”
This story was updated at 10:06 a.m. on March 18 with comment from Campos-Medina.