Tammy Murphy’s campaign manager is leaving after a rocky start to the Senate race

Tammy Murphy, New Jersey’s first lady who is running for the U.S. Senate, has lagged behind her top Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Andy Kim, in polls and in the race for momentum among rank-and-file voters.

On Thursday, in a sign of a changing strategy, she said goodbye to her campaign manager Max Glass. There is no immediate replacement, aides said.

“We are extremely grateful for the value and passion Max has brought to our team and his efforts to keep this campaign going,” said campaign spokeswoman Alex Altman.

Mrs. Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy, began her campaign in November for the seat now occupied by the state’s embattled senior senator, Robert Menendez. Mr Menendez, who is accused of taking bribes in exchange for political favors, has not ruled out running for re-election.

With the governor’s support, Ms. Murphy quickly gathered support from many of the Democratic Party’s most influential leaders.

But a poll released this month showed Ms. Murphy, a first-time candidate with limited experience, trailing Mr. Kim, a third-term congressman from South Jersey, 32 percent to 20 percent among Democrats voters. A week later, Ms. Murphy, 58, lost the Democratic convention by a wide margin in Monmouth County, where she has lived for 25 years.

Ms. Altman described Mr. Glass’s departure as a transition and said the campaign remained confident there was a “clear path to winning the primary.”

Mr Glass said he had no comment.

Mr. Glass, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist, is married to Mollie Binotto, who managed Mr. Murphy’s 2021 re-election campaign for governor.

In 2022, Mr. Glass led the re-election campaign of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. He also has run national campaigns in Kansas, Michigan and North Carolina, according to his LinkedIn account.

Saily Avelenda, who until a few weeks ago was director of the Democratic State Committee, has joined the Murphy campaign as an adviser, Ms. Altman said.

Two other Democrats, Larry Hamm, a left-wing activist who has served on the Newark school board, and Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor leader, are also vying for the Democratic nomination in the June 4 primary.

Mr. Kim’s spokesman said he had no comment on the Murphy campaign’s personnel change.

Dana Rubinstein reporting contributed.