Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) has a much higher favorability rating than Tammy Murphy in New Jersey’s Senate race, despite having less name recognition than the state’s first lady.
Kim had a 48% favorable rating and a 2% unfavorable rating, while 24% expressed no opinion, and 26% reported they are not familiar with him, according to a Monmouth University poll released Wednesday. In comparison, Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), received a 24% favorable rating and a 13% unfavorable rating, while 50% have no opinion of her, and only 13% have not heard of her.
“Kim has more of a public record than Murphy and it shows in this early read of voter sentiment, but what this poll really tells us is that the senate race is still an insider’s game at this point. The contenders are currently focused on appealing to a small group of party leaders and committee members as they try to shore up county lines,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said. He noted it’s not a shock that most voters are uninformed about the candidates.
Multiple candidates are running for the seat currently held by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who’s facing federal corruption charges. On Tuesday, Menendez and his wife faced new charges of extortion and obstruction of justice, adding to previous charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery. Menendez and his wife were initially indicted in September on allegations that they accepted bribes from New Jersey businessmen to benefit the Egyptian government.
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Dozens of senators and other lawmakers from Menendez’s own party have put heavy pressure on the Democrat to resign from office; Menendez has yet to announce whether he’ll run for reelection.
Kim, who became the first Asian American elected to federal office in 2018, launched his campaign to take the seat of the incumbent in November. Days later, Murphy widened the field of Democrats by jumping into the race.
