With First Lady Tammy Murphy exiting the race for U.S. Senate this afternoon, a spokesperson for Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) – now the heavy favorite for the Democratic nomination to succeed indicted Senator Bob Menendez – said that the congressman still supports ending the county line, the ballot design system that had been set to give a major advantage to Murphy.
“Congressman Kim strongly believes that New Jersey should move to a fair, office block ballot system,” Kim senior advisor Anthony DeAngelo said. “It’s the right thing for our democracy and the right thing for our state. The status of our injunction remains in the hands of the judge and we remain ready to strongly advocate for the changes the Congressman and so many others have called for.”
Last month, Kim had filed a lawsuit seeking to abolish the county line, which gives party-endorsed candidates preferential placement on primary ballots. The lawsuit was heavily based around the immediate harm Kim would have faced in his upcoming election against Murphy; now that Murphy is out of the race and that immediate harm has dissipated, it’s not clear what will happen to the suit.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi heard Kim’s arguments last week and has not yet issued a ruling. Importantly, the lawsuit also included two other plaintiffs, congressional candidates Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush, whose own campaigns and legal arguments are unaffected by Murphy’s departure.
Kim is now set to run on every county line statewide, including in the ten counties where the local county party had endorsed Murphy; a number of pro-Murphy county chairs have already confirmed they’re with Kim. That will leave fellow Democratic Senate candidates Larry Hamm and Patricia Campos-Medina, who had joined Kim in calling for the line to be abolished, out in the cold.
In a separate statement released today, Kim said that he looks forward to working alongside Murphy, who called for Democratic unity in her withdrawal announcement but did not specifically endose Kim’s campaign.
“Tammy Murphy has been a voice for progress and public service in our state, and I respect her decision to carry on that work as First Lady,” Kim said. “Tammy and I both agree that it is critical that we keep this seat, and the Senate, in Democratic control. Unity is vital. We will continue our efforts to strengthen our democracy in New Jersey while we come together to stand up against the dangerous agenda pushed by Trump. I look forward to working alongside her, and the Governor, between now and November, and I hope to work alongside them to fight for New Jersey if I’m elected to represent our amazing state in the U.S. Senate.”