Two days after First Lady Tammy Murphy abruptly ended her bid for U.S. Senate, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday he is “incredibly proud” of his wife and praised her for putting “party over herself.”
The Democratic governor also laughed off the idea his wife’s failed bid — and the political capital it expended — diminishes his influence for his final 18 months on the job and insisted he’s “sprinting through the tape.”
In his first public remarks since Tammy Murphy’s stunning exit, Phil Murphy declined to discuss his conversations with the first lady about her decision but said she launched her bid “for the right reasons.”
“She stood for the right things. She worked her tail off. And it was a really tough decision for her,” the governor told reporters at an unrelated event in Aberdeen. “It’s very few people in this line of business who put party over herself, and that’s exactly what she did. I’m incredibly, incredibly proud of her.”
Tammy Murphy announced Sunday she suspended her campaign in the primary for the Democratic nomination for the New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by indicted Democrat Robert Menendez.
Murphy, despite being a first-time candidate, has been a visible presence in her husband’s administration and entered the race with name recognition and the backing of many of New Jersey’s top Democrats as she aimed to become the state’s first female U.S. senator. But she was locked in a fierce primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Andy Kim in an increasingly bitter battle that split the party and drew national attention.
In a video on social media, Murphy said she departed the June 4 primary to avoid “waging a very divisive and negative campaign” as President Joe Biden faces a rematch for the White House with former President Donald Trump and Democrats try to hold on to a slim majority in the Senate.
“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,” she said.
Murphy faced consistent criticism from progressive Democrats who said she was leveraging her husband’s office in the race. She received heavy support from county party chairs that put her in position to have preferential placement on the primary ballot — known as the “county line” — in large, vote-rich areas of the state.
Several of those leaders do business with the state or hold jobs, which critics said gave them incentive to support the first lady and not run afoul of the governor. Phil Murphy still has two years left in office and will also oversee the next two state budgets. Both Phil and Tammy Murphy have staunchly denied accusations of nepotism.
Asked if his wife was treated fairly during the race, Phil Murphy declined to comment Tuesday, noting she will speak to press at a public event Wednesday.
“You should ask her,” the governor said. “I just feel incredibly proud of her.”
Meanwhile, there are questions of whether Tammy Murphy’s campaign will leave Phil Murphy’s governorship in a hobbled state over the two years before he leaves office. Politico New Jersey examined the scenario on Monday in a story titled: “Did Tammy Murphy just make Phil Murphy a lame duck in New Jersey?” One anonymous lawmaker said Murphy will have “no pull.”
“I feel it, right? Did you see me in there? So lame,” Murphy joked, shortly after signing a law to reauthorize transportation funding by increasing New Jersey’s gas tax and charging a fee on electric vehicles over the next five years.
“When I see those headlines, I laugh,” the governor added. ”We’re sprinting through the tape. If you looked at my schedule right now, you would literally laugh at that statement with me. We’ve got a lot more road to cover, and I’m running around the state today, yesterday, tomorrow, you name it.”
Meanwhile, Murphy once again defended New Jersey’s county-line primary ballot design but said he is open to tweaking it. The setup, the only of its kind in the U.S., has been a cornerstone of the state’s often-machine-driven politics but may now be upended because of the Senate race and the criticism of his wife’s candidacy.
Kim filed a federal lawsuit seeking to abolish the system, which he said violates the U.S. Constitution and unfairly favored Tammy Murphy.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi is expected to decide in the coming days whether to grant Kim’s request to nix the line in time for this primary. Quraishi on Tuesday asked attorneys to file new legal briefs by Wednesday on the effect of Murphy’s exit on the case, which makes Kim the Democratic frontrunner. Kim has already agreed to accept several of the lines the first lady secured.
The case got a surprise jolt last week when state Attorney General Matthew Platkin — a longtime close Murphy ally — declined to defend the design in court, saying it’s unconstitutional.
Asked about Platkin’s comments, Murphy said “up until recently, it had been the practice of our attorney general to defend statutes. And that’s just a fact.”
Meanwhile, the four Democratic and Republican leaders of the state Legislature released a rare joint statement last week vowing to discuss reworking the ballot design.
Murphy said he believes “the line has worked pretty well.”
“And if progressives are out there, trying to look at whether or not they got a good government over the past six and a half years, I’d like them to find a more progressive government in America than what they got the past six and a half years, with yours truly elected twice on the line in both cases,” the governor added.
“But I’ve always also said am I open minded to tweaking the system if there’s an opportunity to make it better. Absolutely.”
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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.
