Jersey City mayor pulls support for Tammy Murphy in favor of Andy Kim in NJ Senate race

Katie Sobko, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
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While New Jersey Democrats waited with bated breath to see how a challenge to the ballot line plays out in a federal courtroom in Trenton, there have been a few other developments in the heated U.S. Senate Democratic primary between Rep. Andy Kim and first lady Tammy Murphy.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement Monday morning that he had made a mistake last fall when he endorsed Murphy.

“It’s no secret I’ve been disappointed with the campaign and how it has been conducted,” Fulop said. “It’s clear to me that I was wrong with my early support and endorsement of Tammy Murphy for Senate.”

Congressman Andy Kim congratulates First Lady Tammy Murphy after the ballot count of the Bergen County Democratic Convention, at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, Local 164, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Paramus. Murphy won with more than 60% of the vote.
Congressman Andy Kim congratulates First Lady Tammy Murphy after the ballot count of the Bergen County Democratic Convention, at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, Local 164, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Paramus. Murphy won with more than 60% of the vote.

Fulop said he doesn’t think it is in the state’s best interest for Murphy to stay in the race and noted that the “convention season has demonstrated [Kim] is the better candidate.”

The change from Fulop comes after a busy weekend of county conventions, with both Atlantic and Morris counties proving to be decisive victories for Kim, at 74% to 26% in the former and 85% to 11%.

Murphy was awarded the line in Camden County on Saturday, but that convention has drawn attention for the treatment of the race’s third candidate, Patricia Campos-Medina, who was not even allowed into the meeting.

Charlie Stile: NJ attorney general says he won't defend the 'county line' ballot design

Kim's challenge to the line

Kim was in court Monday morning for a hearing in the lawsuit he filed last month that challenges the state’s ballot design.

The lawsuit alleges that New Jersey's ballot design creates an unfair advantage for the candidate awarded the "line," or the first position on the ballot. The clerks from all 19 counties that use the “county line” ballot design are named as defendants.

Andy Kim speaks with supporters outside the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, Local 164, where the Bergen County Democratic Party Convention is being held, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Paramus
Andy Kim speaks with supporters outside the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, Local 164, where the Bergen County Democratic Party Convention is being held, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Paramus

The hearing came one day after Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a letter to the judge that he sees the current New Jersey ballot design as "unconstitutional" and doesn’t intend to defend it in court.

Kim, alongside Campos-Medina and Lawrence Hamm, has already called for the line system to be dismantled and the block system, which is used by every other state in the nation as well as two New Jersey counties, to be implemented statewide.

In response to the suit, a spokesperson for Murphy said, "Andy Kim doesn't have a problem with the county line system, he has a problem with the idea of losing county lines — as he is perfectly happy to participate in the process when he wins, and he has benefited from the lines in every other election he's run."

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Senate primary: Steve Fulop pulls endorsement of Tammy Murphy