In September, Robert Menendez, the Senior Senator of New Jersey, was charged for being involved in a bribery scheme. Since then, people have been demanding that he resign from office, however, Menendez has yet to do so. Coming up in June, there will be a primary election to determine who from the Democratic Party will be running for Senate in New Jersey in November 2024. With Senator Menendez facing these charges, it opens the door for challengers to come into the primary election. Two of these challengers are Representative Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy, Governor Phil Murphy’s wife. Andy Kim is currently a New Jersey Congressman. He officially launched his candidacy for the 2024 Democratic primary at the Double Nickel Brewing Company, which happens to be the same venue where he declared he was running for House in 2018. Hundreds of people attended this event and people are very excited for Kim to enter the race. 

Tammy Murphy is also planning to run in the Democratic primary this year. If she wins, she could become the first woman to be elected to the Senate from New Jersey. Tammy Murphy is a former Republican from Virginia who became a Democrat before 2018. She has limited experience in politics, but as the current First Lady of New Jersey, she has worked on maternal and infant health projects, as well as environmental issues. If she gets elected, her goal is to “work every single day to lower the cost of living, protect abortion rights, end the gun violence epidemic, and defend our democracy” (AP News). It will be interesting to see the results of this election in June.