The Hunterdon County Democratic convention erupted in anger when party boss Arlene Quiñones Perez tried to change the rules moments before balloting started in the only contested election, the fight for the nomination to replace indicted Senator Bob Menendez.
Close to 200 Hunterdon County Democrats turned out for the convention to designate candidates who will share the advantage of unfair ballot placement in the primary election.
After the party faithful granted endorsements to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, congressional hopeful Sue Altman, plus two nominees for county commission—as well as hearing speeches from three of the four contenders battling for Menendez’s seat—Quiñones Perez sprung a surprise on those gathered.
After delegates heard from Patricia Campos-Medina, Rep. Andy Kim, and First Lady Tammy Murphy, Quiñones Perez announced that any candidate who received more than 30% of the vote would be placed on the party line.
The reaction from the crowd was immediate and loud. A vote was called to overrule the chair and after an indecent interval, the last-minute change was overwhelmingly rejected.
Once the process was put back on track, Kim won his third straight convention victory, leaving Murphy in the dust. A total of 120 delegates supported Kim, 62 cast votes for Murphy, and nine backed Campos-Medina, the only Hunterdon County resident among those seeking the Senate seat.
That vote tally might have only barely enabled Murphy to take advantage of the rule change proposed by Quiñones Perez if the attempt to cheat had been successful.
People’s Organization for Progress Chairman Larry Hamm, who ran against US Senator Cory Booker in the 2020 primary, did not attend the convention and none of the attendees voted to endorse the only candidate who did not support Menendez for the 2018 nomination.
Kim expressed disbelief that the chairwoman would suggest sharing the preferred spot at such a late hour, characterizing the unexpected proposal for a rule change as an instance of party leaders attempting to unjustly favor Murphy.
Kim irritated power brokers when he announced his U.S. Senate candidacy without consulting with the party bosses after Menendez sidestepped calls to resign in response to his second criminal indictment.
Most of those same power brokers are comfortable with Tammy Murphy since there is little patronage in a US Senate office and her husband will continue to dole out money, jobs, and contracts for the 23 months until Governor Phil Murphy’s term ends on January 18th, 2026.
While those leaders have little concern about the machinations in smaller counties with few Democratic primary voters, some say they should take notice of the roughshod way Kim embarrassed Tammy Murphy in Monmouth County two weeks ago, when her neighbors rejected the First Lady and endorsed the Burlington County Congressman.
He then scored a blowout victory at the Burlington County Democratic convention, where he captured 90 percent of the vote.
Murphy started as the clear “establishment” favorite, and in most large counties with top-down Democratic bosses, she has a lock on organizational lines where county party chairs have officially endorsed her. Tammy Murphy also received endorsements from most of New Jersey’s Democratic members of Congress: Reps. Frank Pallone, Donald Norcross, Josh Gottheimer, Bill Pascrell, Mikie Sherrill, and Donald Payne Jr.
Despite these advantages, plus her vast personal wealth and the large network of financially capable contributors whose largesse is made possible by political connections that rely on government spending, convention defeats, progressive criticism along with editorials and news reports in the state’s leading media outlets are more than simple setbacks.
Murphy fired her campaign manager, Max Glass, but her incompetent campaign reflects arrogance and resentment far more than could be explained by technocratic errors and poor planning. The candidate herself is deeply flawed, as a Virginia Republican who contributed hefty sums to GOP candidates including George Bush and Dick Cheney.
The wife of millionaire Wall Street executive Phil Murphy is out of touch with the lives of ordinary New Jerseyans and her attempt to claim credit for state maternal health programs and climate education is a transparent abuse of government resources for political purposes.
If party bosses catch wind of what is at stake—especially if Kim dares to join forces with Democratic insurgents in Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Middlesex, and Union, as he appears close to doing in Hudson County—then they may determine that the Governor’s office cannot withhold enough goodies to make it worth the risk.
Tammy Murphy anticipates a ballot advantage in these counties—Essex, Bergen, Middlesex, Hudson, Camden, Union, Passaic, Somerset, and Gloucester—because she has secured the endorsements of Democratic chairs LeRoy Jones, Paul Juliano, Kevin McCabe, Anthony Vainieri, Jim Beach, Nick Scutari, John Currie, Peg Schaffer, and Chad Bruner, respectively.
If party bosses pull out from Tammy Murphy’s kamikaze campaign, legislators would hang on to enough influence to mitigate any real losses.