**Updated: 1:30 a.m., November 16, 2023**
By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
Years ago, a well-known North Jersey couple popularized the phrase ‘the family business.’ That’s not stopping the state’s top political family from refining the Soprano’s concept today.
After numerous trial balloons tested recently in media headlines, Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife, Tammy, has made it official. She wants to give a final shove to teetering U.S. Senator Bob Menendez whose reelection chances appear dim following his federal indictment that has all the requisite props for conviction–a fancy car bribe, stashed cash, and, the topper, gold bars.
Campaign announcements are a work of art. They seek to highlight a candidate’s positives while offsetting anticipated attacks.
Politico’s Matt Friedman illustrates below a potential weakness in Tammy Murphy’s announcement – Democrat bona fides.
“Tammy Murphy, who grew up in Virginia, has said she was a Republican until the mid-2000s, when she began considering herself a Democrat due to her views on abortion, guns and the environment — issues she highlighted in her campaign announcement. The New York Times reported earlier this month that she voted in a Republican primary as recently as 2014, which was after her husband’s time as Democratic National Committee finance chair and U.S. ambassador to Germany in the Obama administration.”
Related coverage:
New Jersey’s first lady, is running for scandal-tarred Bob Menendez’s Senate seat (CNN)
Tammy Murphy launches bid to unseat indicted Sen. Bob Menendez (CNBC)
New Jersey’s first lady, will seek Bob Menendez’s US Senate seat (USA Today)
Tammy Murphy enters the crowded field for Menendez’s seat (New York Times)
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