Here's how Andy Kim pulled off upset of Tammy Murphy in Monmouth Democrats' Senate vote

LONG BRANCH — U.S. Rep. Andy Kim beat First Lady Tammy Murphy for the top spot on the Monmouth County Democratic line for the June primary in a landslide victory Saturday at the Monmouth County Democratic convention.

Kim, Murphy and labor organizer Patricia Campos-Medina, in addition to a handful of other candidates, are running to replace incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez, who has been indicted under federal corruption changes. The Democrat has denied wrongdoing but has also not said whether he plans to seek re-election.

Kim beat Murphy, the wife of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, by a vote of 265 to 181 votes, despite Murphy’s local connections and long list of endorsements from party leaders around New Jersey. Campos-Medina received 20 votes in the convention, held at the Portuguese Club in Long Branch.

“If we can win by that big in the First Lady’s home county, I think we have a real good shot at blowing it out of the water all over New Jersey,” said Kim, whose 3rd Congressional District stretche through parts of Monmouth, Mercer and Burlington counties.

Menendez declined to participate in the convention and Newark activist Larry Hamm, who founded People’s Organization for Progress, withdrew his name despite being on Saturday’s ballot.

What is the Monmouth County Democratic convention?

The Monmouth County Democrats have more than 800 members that hail from local Democratic parties, including voters who ranged from mayors to local residents. More than half of registered members attended Saturday’s convention, which holds secret votes.

The vote determines who gets the most favorable placement on the June primary ballot in the county. In Monmouth, ballots are designed so that endorsed Democrats appear in one column, known as the "county line," and “off the line” candidates are listed under other columns. Historically, county-line candidates usually win their races.

New Jersey’s primary election will take place on Tuesday, June 4. In-person early voting will run from May 29 to June 2. Registered voters can change their party affiliation up until April 10. Unregistered voters have until May 14 to declare a party affiliation.

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As a result of Saturday's vote, Kim, first elected in 2019, will appear on the county line during the June primary.

He, Campos-Medina and Hamm had spoken out against having a party line on ballots.

“I think that New Jersey should have an office block ballot like every other state in the United States should have,” Kim said, referring to a ballot design that would grant “off the line” candidates a greater chance of winning.

Kim's run for the Senate has left his 3rd District seat is up for grabs. On Saturday, state Assemblyman Herb Conaway beat Assemblywoman Carol Murphy by 76 to 13 votes for a spot on the county line.

What does this mean?

Monmouth County’s Democratic convention is the first in the state and may set a tone for other conventions. It is also a county in which both Kim and Murphy have connections.

Kim’s third district includes portions of Monmouth County as well as Burlington and Mercer County. The Monmouth County municipalities include Allentown, Upper Freehold, Millstone, Roosevelt, Manalapan, Englishtown, Holmdel, Marlboro, Freehold Borough and Freehold Township.

Murphy, meanwhile, has lived with her husband for years in Monmouth County and is well-known for her philanthropic efforts with nonprofits around the Shore.

The scene at the convention

While Kim won about 57% of Saturday’s votes, there were few Andy Kim poster and pins among the voters. Millstone’s Natalie Biello said the Millstone Democratic Municipal Committee was not endorsing any candidates on its own. Red Bank’s delegation, led by councilwoman Kate Triggiano, said the local Democratic Municipal Committee was also not endorsing any candidates.

A number of voting members requested to be off the record to describe why publicly supporting either candidates would put them in a bind. Many said they wanted to maintain good relationships with both the Murphys and Kim, who represents much of western Monmouth.

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Deb Turi-Smith, vice president of Freehold’s local Democratic Club, was one of a few vocal supporters of Kim and gave the speech introducing him.

She said Saturday’s vote is a clear indication that Kim has grassroot support. She said she had gone to Kim when a relative had an issue and his office was very responsive. She praised the congressman's civility when dealing with others including disruptive protestors.

“That to me is a leader,” Turi-Smith said.

Murphy, Kim, Campos-Medina on the issues

Still, there were visible shows of support for Murphy, including signs from the Middletown Democratic Municipal Committee.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, whose 6th Congressional District runs along the northern Jersey Shore, gave a full-throated endorsement of Murphy.

“I am sick and tired … of being in office all these years, and never having anybody who would stick up for our county in the Senate the way that Tammy will,” Pallone said in his introductory speech. “She’s from here. She understands the issues.”

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Murphy name-checked Monmouth County projects she would like to see come to fruition including Convention Hall in Asbury Park and Netflix at Fort Monmouth.

She emphasized her experience with policies including maternal healthcare and climate change education and said she supports Medicare for All and gun control.

Kim spoke of his parents who left in the aftermath of the Korean war and thrived in the U.S. He emphasized his background working in the State Department and Afghanistan as a civilian advisor. He said he supports protecting reproductive rights, fighting against corruption and passing climate change legislation.

Campos-Medina, who has worked as a union organizer with The Worker Institute at Cornell University, had the support of a number of officials in Oceanport. She emphasized her working class immigrant background and her work in grassroots labor organization, including fighting for state legislation for domestic workers.

She branded herself a candidate running against the status quo and said she supports student debt relief, a higher federal minimum wage, better public transportation, affordable housing, LGBTQ+ rights, affordable healthcare and a ceasefire in Gaza.

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Alex Altman, a spokeswoman with Murphy’s campaign, said in a statement that “Tammy is grateful for all the votes she received today from Monmouth County and is thankful to all the delegates that stayed in the room during the long day.

"Tammy congratulated Andy on a hard-fought win today in Monmouth and she looks forward to continuing her work to build a strong coalition across the state and earning the support of New Jersey voters. New Jersey needs a Senator that will stand up to MAGA Republicans and their harmful agenda, and Tammy Murphy will be that senator.”

Kim said after the vote, “I think this very clearly does is show that there is nothing inevitable about this race.”

What do the polls say?

According to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released in early February, Kim leads among likely Democratic primary voters 32% to 20% with 31% still undecided.

In a news release, Dan Cassino, director of the FDU poll, said institutional support is usually enough to win a primary in New Jersey.

The poll also shows Menendez with 9% of likely Democratic primary voters' support and Patricia Campos-Medina with 8%.

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Murphy held a lead in name recognition with 68% of those polled recognizing her name compared with 52% for Kim. However, Kim polled well in favorability compared to Murphy with 24% of likely Democratic primary voters saying they “strongly approve” of him, compared to 13% for Murphy. Only 2% of those polled said they strongly or somewhat disapproved of Kim compared to 14% for Murphy.

Cassino said neither Kim nor Murphy are hard-left candidates and that there's little dufference in their positions. Still, Kim was perceived as more liberal than Murphy, he said.

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Senate race: Monmouth Democrats choose Andy Kim over Tammy Murphy