The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

02-29-24-us-capitol-abhiram-juvvadi-2
The rotunda of the United States Capitol on Feb. 29. Credit: Abhiram Juvvadi

Tammy Murphy announced that she will be suspending her Senate campaign. 

Murphy, the wife of Phil Murphy (D-NJ) made the announcement on March 24 over X. Her exit paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who will likely replace Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) as New Jersey’s next senator. 

“With Donald Trump on the ballot and so much at stake for our nation, I will not in good conscience waste resources tearing down a fellow Democrat,” Murphy said in her drop-out announcement.

In January, Kim gained the endorsement of at least seven Pennsylvania representatives. Kim was also the first New Jersey Democrat to call for Menendez’s resignation following the federal charges against him in September over allegations of bribery and providing sensitive information to the Egyptian government. After Menendez declined to resign, Kim launched his campaign to run against him in the upcoming June 4 Democratic primary. 

“Not something I expected to do, but NJ deserves better,” Kim said on X.

Before Murphy’s exit, polling showed Kim to be the leading candidate, with 32 percent of the support compared to Murphy’s 20 percent. On March 18, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop rescinded his endorsement of Murphy, instead switching it to Kim. At the same time, Mayor Fulop admitted that he made a mistake, making it clear now that Kim was the better candidate to represent New Jersey, he said in a post on X.