Tammy Murphy, the First Lady of New Jersey, has declared her withdrawal from the campaign to succeed Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is facing significant challenges in the upper chamber of Congress.
Ms. Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, entered the campaign in November but struggled to defeat U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ ) in the polls, as The Epoch Times reported.
As incumbent, Menendez, Kim, and Murphy vie for the Democratic nomination in the midst of a controversy involving Menendez and his wife, who are accused of accepting bribes to represent Egypt on multiple Department of Justice (DOJ) indictments, the three-way campaign for the nomination is underway.
In a video posted to X, Ms. Murphy, who struggled with political optics as the spouse of a sitting governor, declared her withdrawal from the election.
“After many busy, invigorating, and, yes, challenging months, I am suspending my Senate campaign today,” Ms. Murphy said.
“I have been genuine and factual throughout, but it is clear to me that continuing in this race will involve waging a very divisive and negative campaign, which I am not willing to do.”
Among the issues that she referred to as "what's at stake in this election" were climate change, abortion, and gun regulation.
In addition to this, she asserted that "far-right extremists" and former President Donald Trump are "grave threats on the national level."
“With Donald Trump on the ballot and so much at stake for our nation, I will not waste resources tearing down a fellow Democrat,” she said.
“New Jersey’s next senator must focus on the issues of our time and not be mired in tearing others down while dividing the people of our party and state,” Ms. Murphy said.
“I’m making this decision because this campaign has never been about me. And right now, I know that the best thing we can do for New Jersey is unite and focus on the real issues at hand.”
Ms. Murphy asserted that her primary focus now will be on “re-electing President [Joe] Biden and ensuring Democratic victories up and down the ballot.”
A multitude of criminal indictments on charges of corruption have been brought against Senator Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006, as The Washington Examiner reported.
On Thursday, the senator from New Jersey made the announcement that he will not be running for reelection in the Democratic primary. However, he did not rule out the possibility of running at the general election as an "independent Democrat."
