Tammy Murphy as the next U.S. senator from NJ? 'We'll see,' husband Phil says.

Sen. Bob Menendez says he’s still in the 2024 race. But could Democrats see First Lady Tammy Murphy’s name on the primary ballot — either running against him or ultimately in his place?

“I think if she has news to break on this, she's going to be the one to do it,” Gov. Phil Murphy, her husband, said during Wednesday nights’ installment of the “Ask Governor Murphy” call-in show on WNYC.

It’s clear New Jersey’s top Democrats don’t want Menendez to run for U.S. Senate again — no matter how adamantly he refutes federal prosecutors' claims that he took lavish bribes to leak secrets to Egypt and to run interference for political investigations.

The governor on Wednesday acknowledged that persistent chatter about Tammy Murphy looking to replace Menendez has hit home. He said she’s been approached by people throughout the state and beyond about seeking the seat, is humbled by the suggestion and takes the prospect seriously.

“She takes her job as mom as job number one. And that will always be the case,” Phil Murphy said. “But we'll see.”

Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat representing most of Burlington County as well as parts of Mercer and Monmouth, has already announced his intention to challenge Menendez in the primary. Kim was also the first prominent Democrat to call for Menendez to step down.

Were Tammy Murphy to run and win, she’d be the first female U.S. senator from New Jersey. She’s known as a highly capable fundraiser — including in supporting her husband’s campaigns — with connections throughout the political class. A Fairleigh Dickinson Poll in January found she had the highest name recognition among several prominent Democrats who might consider running for governor in 2025 . She was considerably ahead of the only Democrat to actually declare a run so far, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.

Yet Kim had nearly double Tammy Murphy’s support for the Senate seat in a poll commissioned by the progressive group End Citizens United; only 5% of those polled said they’d vote for Menendez.

For now, the governor said, both Murphys are focused on the coming legislative elections, when candidates for every seat in both the state Senate and Assembly go before voters.

There’s another potential path to the Senate seat. If Menendez steps down — as most of New Jersey’s top Democrats and more than half the Senate’s Democratic caucus are calling on him to do — a replacement would fill out his term. That person would be appointed by Gov. Murphy.

Would the governor appoint his own wife?

“I don't see any scenario where that would be the case, but thank you for asking,” he said on the call-in show.

In New Jersey, party machine-backed candidates enjoy a strong advantage in primary races. In all but two counties, ballots group candidates endorsed by a party’s county committee onto a single line or row; others running for a nomination appear separately. In some cases, the endorsements are decided by conventions of party delegates —  in others, county committee leaders made the call.

That means, come 2024 when the Senate seat is next up for grabs, anyone with the Democratic party’s backing will appear on a line with President Joe Biden in the first position. Whoever gets the county committee endorsement for the Senate seat will be near the top of the line as well.

But more than half the county Democratic leaders in the state have called for Menendez to resign, leaving it unclear who’ll get the committees’ nods if he stays in the race.

A caller to “Ask Governor Murphy” questioned if Biden, who hasn’t taken a public stand on whether Menendez should step down, should agree to appear on the same line as the incumbent and embattled senator. The governor’s answer: That’s for the president to decide.