Family drama in the Garden State
Bricks of bullion. Envelopes filled with cash. Secret meetings with an Egyptian spy.
These sordid details form the backbone of the bribery allegations against New Jersey’s senior senator, Robert Menendez, a Democrat. In any other state, that would be enough drama.
But in the Garden State, the scandal has created an even more powerful political storm.
Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, is running for Menendez’s seat as a Democrat, backed by political leaders who are allies of her husband and dependent on his largesse during his final two years in office.
The bold pursuit of a coveted seat has prompted critics to dismiss her candidacy as nepotism.
She is running against Andy Kim, a popular three-term Democratic congressman from South Jersey who may be known nationally for his viral photo of him cleaning up the Capitol after the January 6 riot.
And Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges and faces trial in May, has been coy about whether he plans to run for re-election.
A family affair
If Murphy is elected, two of New Jersey’s three statewide offices would be held by people who are share the same country house. Murphy was a Republican until a decade ago and never ran for office. She would be the first woman ever elected to the Senate from New Jersey, a possibility she has highlighted.
Her election to the Senate has been roasted on social media. She has already replaced one campaign manager and a experienced strategist who has run campaigns for former governors: Andrew Cuomo of New York and Jim McGreevey and Jon Corzine of New Jersey.
And the stakes are also high for Kim: He cannot run for re-election to the House of Representatives while also running for the Senate. If he loses the June 4 primary, he will be out of a job.
Kim has worked to tie Murphy to what he calls the state’s “broken politics,” suggesting she is tapping into the same party boss energy that nurtured and protected Menendez.
The livelihoods of many of the first lady’s most influential supporters are tied to the state government, making it difficult to see where their support for her ends and self-preservation begins.
Tom Malinowski, a former Democratic congressman from New Jersey who has endorsed Kim, said city and county officials had told him that “they feel like they have no choice but to support the first lady.”
According to him, an open threat is not necessary.
“In most cases, these people just assume that this is the way the system works in New Jersey,” he said. “And if there’s a bill they want to pass through the legislature, or a grant they want to get, or a job they could hold – all of that could be in jeopardy if they leave the first family state to make angry.”
Walking ‘the line’
Kim has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the way ballots are designed in primaries in most of the state’s 21 counties.
Known in New Jersey as “the line,” the system allows Democratic and Republican county leaders to place their preferred candidates for each office in one column or row on the ballot. Unapproved challengers appear on the side or along the edge of the ballot. Studies have shown that “the line” directs voters’ eyes, and placing it on it often means the difference between winning and losing.
The line is also how provincial leaders maintain their power and their access to government contracts and jobs, which are often seen as the spoils of a political victory. The drive to end it has gripped politics in New Jersey.
The mayors of the state’s two largest cities, Ras Baraka of Newark and Steve Fulop of Jersey City — both of whom are running for governor next year — have spoken in favor of ending the line, as have many lawmakers and the two other Democrats who to apply as a candidate. for the Senate, Larry Hamm and Patricia Campos-Medina.
Murphy, who says he favors following the rules that currently exist, is supported by leaders in many of the state’s most populous, urban counties, where a majority of the state’s Democrats live and where the party boss structure is strongest. entrenched.
Situation
The first independent poll in the race suggested Murphy trailed Kim by 12 percentage points. But the survey showed she maintained a lead among black and Latino voters.
The race also features more potential wildcards.
Menendez, who was indicted this week on additional bribery charges and pleaded not guilty, could still decide to run for office.
And a handful of Republicans are also vying for the Senate nomination, although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 940,000 voters in New Jersey. It’s been 50 years since a Republican was elected state senator.
But as people familiar with the criminal case involving Menendez might attest, nothing this year feels completely impossible.
The House passes the TikTok bill
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the wildly popular video app or face a ban in the United States.
The move escalates a confrontation between Beijing and Washington over control of a wide range of technologies that could affect national security, freedom of expression and the social media industry.
Republican leaders quickly moved the bill through the House of Representatives with limited debate, passing it on a 352-65 vote, reflecting broad support for legislation that would directly target China in an election year.
The action came despite TikTok’s efforts to mobilize its 170 million U.S. users against the measure, and despite pressure from the Biden administration to convince lawmakers that Chinese ownership of the platform poses serious national security risks to the United States States, including the ability to interfere in elections.
The result was a bipartisan coalition behind the measure, including Republicans, who defied former President Donald Trump by supporting it, and Democrats, who also backed a bill that President Biden said he would sign.
The bill faces a difficult path to passage in the Senate, where Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and majority leader, has been noncommittal about bringing it to a vote and where some lawmakers have vowed to fight it . And even if it passes the Senate and becomes law, it will likely face legal challenges.
— Sapna Maheshwari, David McCabe And Annie Karni
Read the full article here.