New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy may have misread the moment.
Murphy launched her Senate campaign perfectly — at least by conventional standards. When federal prosecutors indicted Sen. Bob Menendez for corruption, Murphy called New Jersey’s extraordinarily powerful county chairs to seek their support. She hoped to become the prohibitive favorite among Democrats when she formally announced in November.
Instead, Murphy is facing resistance, verging on hostility, from the rank and file of her party.
Anti-establishment sentiment that was evident in the last Senate election is now becoming an early and dominating theme of the primary contest between Murphy and her primary opponent, Rep. Andy Kim, who announced his run the day after Menendez was indicted seeking to harness a message of reform. On Saturday, the three-term House member notched a key victory showing that his message is breaking through, handily defeating Murphy in her home county in the New Jersey’s first Democratic nominating convention.
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