NJ governor promises to fill Menendez seat quickly as first lady bows out

New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy does not want her husband to appoint her to fill Bob Menendez’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat.

Murphy, who ran in the Democratic primary for Menendez’s seat, said Tuesday she is not interested in serving in the Senate as her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy, decides who to appoint as a temporary replacement. Menendez said in a letter Tuesday he will resign from office next month following his conviction on 16 corruption counts.

“While I’m grateful for the humbling support and outreach I've received since last year, I want to reiterate that I will not accept an appointment to the U.S. Senate,” Tammy Murphy said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon. The first lady said she is focused on her work to improve infant and maternal health.

The governor is able to unilaterally appoint a replacement for the remainder of Menendez’s term, which expires at the start of next year.

The governor is expected to move quickly. He is said to be considering several people to replace Menendez, including Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and Nina Mitchell Wells, a former secretary of state in Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration. All are women of color. George Helmy, the governor’s former chief of staff, is also being considered.

Murphy picked Way as his lieutenant governor following the death of Sheila Oliver last summer. At the time, a source said the governor’s choice came down to Way and Wells . Way is one of the longest-serving members of Murphy’s administration, having served as secretary of state since 2018.

The first lady was in a bitter Democratic primary battle against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim earlier this year for Menendez’s Senate seat, but abruptly withdrew from the race in March amid backlash to her candidacy.

Kim is now the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat and is favored to beat his Republican opponent, Curtis Bashaw.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is encouraging Murphy to appoint Kim.

Kim told POLITICO on Tuesday he had not heard from the governor’s office. He said he isn’t sure being his party’s nominee means he should be picked to fill the seat now.

“It’s a different protocol, and this is the governor's decision,” Kim said. “You know, my main focus is about winning this outright for six years.”

The governor appears unlikely to elevate Kim, in part because of the hard-fought campaign Kim waged with his wife earlier this year. Such a move could also create the appearance of Murphy influencing the election, giving Kim the advantage of incumbency against his GOP opponent.

In a statement on Tuesday, the governor said he would find a “temporary appointment to the United States Senate to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.” When asked by reporters Monday whether he was vetting names in the event of a vacancy, Murphy said: “I have no news at all to make on that front.”

Booker is hardly alone in urging the governor to put the race behind him. Several Democratic leaders POLITICO spoke with earlier this month said it would at least be logical to appoint Kim since he won the Democratic primary.

Other names being floated include former Obama administration homeland security secretary Jeh Johnson, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman and former state Sen. Dick Codey, who is known as “governor” for temporarily filling a vacancy in Trenton following the resignation of Gov. Jim McGreevey.

"I think I know how to conduct myself in public office,” Codey said. “If you look at polling data, there's only one other politician that ranks with the public above me and that's Governor Kean. I don't think Governor Murphy would appoint him. But it wouldn't be a bad choice."

Codey was referring to former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a Republican. A recent poll found that Codey had the second-highest approval rating among living New Jersey governors.

Johnson, when reached by POLITICO, said: “Best I can say right now is that I have no comment.”

Johnson’s name appeared on a list of Democrats that Bashaw — Kim’s GOP rival — has publicly recommended to Murphy in the event of a vacancy (that list also includes comedian Jon Stewart). In a statement on Tuesday, Bashaw repeated his calls that Murphy not appoint Kim to the seat.

"The governor should appoint a caretaker to this seat, as is the long-standing New Jersey tradition, and not give either candidate the advantage of incumbency in this election,” Bashaw said.

If Murphy does not pick Kim, he would not be the first governor to appoint a placeholder to fill a vacant Senate seat. Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom picked someone to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat who had no intention of running for it. But that was while a contested Democratic primary was underway, not after a victor had emerged.

Shortly after the death of New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg in 2013, former Republican Gov. Chris Christie appointed Jeffrey Chiesa, Christie’s attorney general, to the vacant Senate seat. Chiesa served nearly five months in the Senate, and Booker now occupies that seat.