(The Center Square) — Congressman Andy Kim is leading New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy in the Democratic primary race against Sen. Bob Menendez, according to a new poll, which suggests the state’s voters are fed up with the “party boss” system.
The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of about 500 likely Democratic voters, billed as the first independent survey of the contested Senate primary, found that Kim is ahead of Murphy by 12 points.
Kim, elected to the House in 2019, leads Murphy, wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, by 32% to 20% among likely voters, with 31% saying they are undecided.
Menendez, who is facing multiple federal indictments on bribery and other charges, garnered only 9% of the Democratic voters surveyed in the poll, which suggests he’s likely to take a drubbing in the primary. That’s only slightly better than labor leader Patricia Campos Medina, favored by 8% of the voters.
Menendez, accused of using his power and influence to benefit business cronies and Egyptian and Qatari governments in exchange for cash and gold bars, has not said whether he plans to seek reelection. Other polls have shown voters want him to step down.