New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy mulling bid for Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat

New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy is being encouraged to run for embattled Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) seat next year, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.

Murphy’s husband, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), called on the Garden State’s senior senator to resign on Friday, hours after Menendez and his wife were federally indicted by a grand jury on bribery charges. Similar calls have trickled in from dozens of Democratic voices in the four days since, while politicos on both sides of the aisle have begun angling for Menendez’s coveted Senate seat.

CORY BOOKER CALLS ON NEW JERSEY COLLEAGUE MENENDEZ TO RESIGN AMID INDICTMENT UPROAR

Tammy Murphy, a financier described by those close to her as extremely involved in her husband’s administration, has received calls from Democrats locally and in Washington urging her to consider running. Several Democratic operatives told her they believe she will perform well with suburban women, a critical constituency in the state.

Should she get in the race, Murphy is certain to face a crowded primary contest in the blue state.

Menendez has not said if he will seek reelection next year, but Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) specifically announced his candidacy in response to Menendez’s refusal to step down. Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), all of whom called on Menendez to resign after the Friday indictment, have also been floated in New Jersey political circles as candidates.

Gottheimer, who chairs the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, is supporting Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), the senator’s son, in his reelection bid. The junior Menendez was the sole Democratic member of New Jersey’s House delegation who did not call for his father’s resignation.

On the GOP side, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ), who left the Democratic Party for the GOP in late 2019, said over the weekend that he is considering entering the race.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called on Menendez to step aside on Tuesday. The move was an extraordinary one for New Jersey’s junior senator, who has long described his home state colleague as a mentor and friend. Booker stood by Menendez during his first federal criminal trial, attending nearly every day of the proceedings and testifying as a character witness for the senior senator.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In this latest indictment, federal prosecutors have accused Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, of illegally using the senator’s position as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to peddle influence with donors and benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for cash, gold bars, and other valuables. The senator has dismissed the charges as part of a larger “smear campaign” against him and vowed to fight them.

Menendez was defiant at a Monday press conference, predicting he would be exonerated and accusing prosecutors of framing the allegations against him to appear “as salacious as possible.”