Rep. Andy Kim’s (D-NJ) mission to become the next New Jersey senator has been going his way recently, signaling a rough time ahead for the power couple of Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) and his wife, Tammy Murphy, who is also running for the seat.
Kim said he has been painted as the underdog in the race, even as his polling indicates otherwise. Kim is leading Murphy in polls despite her major endorsements. Both candidates are hoping to secure the seat held by embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Menendez has not announced whether he will seek reelection, but he’s far down in the polls if he does.
“There was a journalist who asked me: What’s it like to be the underdog in a Senate race?” Kim said in December. “I’m like: I’m 23 points up in the polls! In what other state is someone who’s 23 points up considered to be the underdog?”
Kim, who is lesser known by northern Democrats, was the first person to declare his candidacy in November when Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges, but Murphy was later dubbed the favorite to win the nomination. The state’s first lady entered the race with solid endorsements, and out-fundraised Kim in the first quarter with $3.2 million to Kim’s $2.8 million.
Although she had no electoral experience of her own, Murphy had name recognition, and she had recently traveled across the state to talk about reducing infant mortality rates. Still, Kim claimed she had no proven track record of where she stood on key Democratic issues.
“I’m not really sure what her positions are,” Kim told Semafor. “I have five years of a voting record, showing what it is that I believe in — including some tough votes in a district Donald Trump won twice. The only voting record we have for the first lady is that she said she was a registered Republican until 2014. I don’t know what her beliefs are on different issues. I think she has to answer those questions to the people of New Jersey.”
Kim’s rise in Democratic politics was evident last week, when he easily won at the Monmouth County Democratic convention. Although Kim represents a good chunk of the county in Congress, the victory was notable because Murphy had secured endorsements from local leaders.
Kim is also leading Murphy by 12 percentage points, according to a Farleigh Dickinson poll released earlier this month. Kim had 32% of the vote, Murphy had 20%, Menendez still garnered 9% of the vote, and long-shot candidate Campos Medina had 8%.
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Murphy is still expected to do well in certain populous counties, such as Hudson and Essex, which are located near New York City. She also polls well among non-white voters. But Kim has the support of swing voters, and white liberals.
Kim has also secured endorsements from Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and former New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski (D).
