Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) issued an endorsement on Thursday in the Democratic Senate primary race for Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) seat.
Fetterman expressed his support for Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) to replace Menendez in the Senate following his recent federal indictments. “One of the most important things is that we have a reliable Democratic vote,” he told the New York Times.
“We have to run this table in ’24 in order to maintain the majority,” Fetterman said. “But we need to count on every Democratic vote. Andy Kim is the kind of guy we can count on.”
Democrats were slow to criticize Menendez when he was indicted on federal bribery charges in September last year. But Fetterman broke the levies for criticism when he called on the senator to resign following his second indictment for corruption.
Kim is a third-term congressman representing counties in southern and central New Jersey. He’s already running against Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D-NJ) wife, Tammy Murphy, in the primary, and Menendez hasn’t revealed whether he plans to seek reelection. While the senator hasn’t made an announcement, he has signaled his unwillingness to resign or step back from political life.
Murphy has received several endorsements from leaders across the state, but Fetterman’s seal of approval could boost Kim’s footing going into the primary.
Fetterman noted in his endorsement of Kim that Murphy was once a Republican. According to him, she might be “a lovely woman, but the last time I had to deal with a Republican from New Jersey, that was my own race,” in reference to his battle with Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022.
“I wouldn’t want to risk having someone that might waffle when we have to deliver a solid Democratic vote in a very, very divided Senate like we have,” he explained.
Kim is a “distinguished member of Congress who has been working really, really hard,” according to Fetterman.
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The congressman was appreciative of Fetterman’s support, telling the New York Times, “To have someone who is a sitting senator, who knows the job, knows the role of a legislator at this moment, and also just understands the crazy, chaotic moment that we live in right now, that’s something that stands out.”
“Sen. Menendez is still in and working. That’s made this dynamic more complicated. Sen. Fetterman’s willingness to lean forward — I appreciate that. He doesn’t have to. It’s a very complicated race,” he added.