“Would a call from Tammy help?” The pressure is mounting in the race to oust Menendez

New Jersey's College Democrats were preparing to endorse one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate primaries when calls came in from someone in contact with the campaign of Tammy Murphy, the presumptive front-runner and the wife of the president. governor of the state.

The caller, a female student who works as a youth coordinator for the Democratic State Committee, wanted to know what Ms. Murphy's campaign could do to stop the group from supporting Ms. Murphy's main rival, Rep. Andy Kim.

“Would a call from Tammy help?” the woman asked, indicating she was passing on a message from the Murphy campaign.

Then, in a series of calls over the next two hours, pressure from the caller, Keely Magee, escalated to warnings — about funding and future job prospects for leaders of the College Democrats, according to several people involved in the discussions and a recording of one call .

In an interview, Ms. Magee said the Murphy campaign had not asked her to pressure the group on her behalf. But she acknowledged that she was aware that members of Ms. Murphy's campaign staff “wanted to do something to prevent the endorsement,” and said she received text messages from Murphy campaign consultant Dave Parano.

During the recorded conversation, Ms. Magee described Mr. Parano as a colleague who had spoken “directly” to the campaign manager and had “very, very close ties to the Murphys.” Mr. Parano did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The attempt to block the approval failed. On Wednesday, both the College Democrats of America and the New Jersey chapter published full-throated expressions of support from Mr. Kim, a South Jersey Democrat who is running against Ms. Murphy for the chance to unseat Sen. Bob Menendez.

The episode offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the high-stakes political battle unfolding as New Jersey's first lady, a first-time candidate, struggles to gain traction with the base in her bid to oust Mr. Menendez. faces federal bribery charges.

With the support of her husband, Governor Philip D. Murphy, a second-term Democrat, Mrs. Murphy has won the backing of many of the state's most powerful Democrats and has raised a record amount of contributions in the first six weeks of her campaign fetched. Still, several polls suggest she continues to trail Mr. Kim by a wide margin.

Alex Altman, a spokeswoman for Ms. Murphy's campaign, said Ms. Magee's comments were “totally and completely inappropriate, and in no way represent this campaign or what we stand for.”

“They were created by a young person with no connection to our campaign, someone who was eager to help, albeit in a misguided way,” Ms. Altman added.

Ms. Magee, a 21-year-old junior at Rutgers University, has worked part-time for several years as a paid youth coordinator for the Democratic State Committee.

Ms Magee said her main aim had been to convince members of the organisation College Democrats board of directors to halt an ongoing online approval vote and instead remain neutral. She said she believed statewide Democratic organizations should not take sides before a primary, and worried that a group she was responsible for guiding could face repercussions if it did so.

“It didn't come from a threatening situation at all,” she said.

But students on the other end of the line said they felt threatened, so much so that they recorded the last conversation to have proof of the exchange if they were to be punished later. The students then presented Mr.'s campaign. Kim accessed the recording, which was also shared with The New York Times.

“I felt a mix of shock and fear,” said Nate Howard, 20, a junior at Princeton University who is vice president of the New Jersey chapter of the College Democrats and participated in the phone call with Ms. Magee that was recorded. “Shock because: why are these people threatening us? Are we really that important?”

According to the recording, Ms. Magee warned the students that an early endorsement from Mr. Kim could harm their future job prospects, deprive their organization of as much as $2,000 in funding and jeopardize their chances of serving as delegates to the Democratic National Convention. being selected could cause harm. in Chicago.

“If Tammy Murphy somehow wins the senatorship, I would be cautious if I ever get a job in that office or anything like that,” Ms. Magee said. “At least for the first few years of her term, until her staff changes.”

Mr Howard said Ms Murphy called him on Friday to apologize. Ms Magee said Mr Parano, a political consultant who also works for the state commission, had also apologized to her for involving her in the process in the first place.

Ms. Murphy's campaign said all students involved in this “unfortunate situation” should be given the “grace, allowance and forgiveness we all deserve at that age.”

In the 2020 elections 67 percent of New Jersey voters Voters between the ages of 18 and 29 are the highest in the country.

A spokeswoman for the Kim campaign said she was enthusiastic about the messages of support from the university groups, but had no comment on the recording.

Mr Howard said the experience has underlined what he believes is wrong with politics.

“For things to get better,” Mr. Howard said, “I believe it will take courageous people to tell the truth about the inappropriate and downright egregious behavior of the status quo.”