Phil Murphy realized he had made a mistake over a month ago. The nepotism thing was going over badly in the suburbs, really badly. His Republican wife, Tammy, was losing every single county where the convention voting wasn't controlled by a corrupt mobster/machine boss. Tammy wasn’t happy and neither was Phil. A few weeks ago we were told she said if she didn’t win the Bergen County convention she would end her campaign. But it’s a corrupt lobbyist Paul Juliano machine-controlled Democratic Party in Bergen County, one of the worst. And she won. So she slogged on… and it got worse and worse for her and Phil on an almost daily basis. People weren’t liking them. The slimy affair in Camden County with Norcross was probably the last straw, a "win" that tied them to the most corrupt machine in teh state. It was starting to impact Phil’s stature— and his dream of being on a national ticket. And it was looking like Andy Kim could— then would— beat her.
Worse yet— for Phil and Tammy and the whole stinking Jersey Democratic establishment, Kim’s suit against the line system is looking like a winner. If the federal judge rules in Kim’s this week— likely— the whole corrupt-ridden machine system disintegrates. In fact, the Murphys either feel certain that Judge Zahid Quraishi is going to rule against them or her stepping out of the race is a last-ditch attempt to save the line/machine. Now that he’ll have the machine county lines… what will he do about the lawsuit? He says he's committed to the lawsuit and to getting rid of the line. I hope so.
Kim beat her in her own county, Monmouth, and then went on to win open conventions in Burlington, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Mercer, Atlantic and Morris counties. His momentum looked terrible for her— and for Phil. She outraised him $2.7 million to $3.2 million. But their own internal polling showed he would beat her in a fair (non-line) election. Here’s the stupid good-bye video she put out yesterday, as though anyone besides herself cares:
Brent Johnson reported that “Despite being a first-time candidate, she was quickly considered the race’s frontrunner, due to her husband’s connections, a prolific fundraising background, and the endorsements of several leading Democratic county party chairs who hold great sway over New Jersey’s unique primary process. That process, known as ‘the county line,’ became a key focus in the race. Under the system, the only of its kind in the U.S., candidates endorsed by county parties get prominent placement on primary ballots and are thus heavily favored to win. Critics accused Murphy of leveraging her husband’s power to receive the line in the state’s largest, vote-rich counties. Several county chairs who backed her either do business with the state or hold jobs, critics said gave them incentive to support the first lady’s campaign and not run afoul of the governor. Both Phil and Tammy Murphy staunchly denied accusations of nepotism. Kim lambasted the setup as unfair and filed a federal lawsuit to abolish the line, drawing national attention to the arcane but controversial system. A judge is expected to rule in the coming days, with the potential to upend not only the Senate race but New Jersey’s entire political landscape.”
Tracey Tully put it like this: when Tammy entered the race last Nov, she “was instantly endorsed by a coalition of influential [crooked] party leaders, including many whose livelihoods were dependent on the governor, who has nearly two years left in his term. This led to virtually nonstop claims of nepotism by critics, who argued that the governor and Tammy, a first-time candidate with limited experience, were exploiting New Jersey’s entrenched system of boss politics.”
