Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is endorsing Representative Andy Kim of New Jersey in the primary to unseat Senator Bob Menendez, the embattled veteran Democrat who is under indictment in a federal corruption case, taking the rare step of wading into a high-stakes intraparty fight to oust a colleague.
Mr. Fetterman, the harshest Democratic critic of Mr. Menendez in Congress, who has repeatedly called on him to resign, is the first sitting senator to endorse any candidate in the race. In an interview, he explained his decision to intervene in a primary to take out a fellow sitting senator, stating bluntly that “anything would be an upgrade over Menendez.”
Mr. Kim, a three-term congressman representing a southern New Jersey district that former President Donald J. Trump won twice, is running for the seat against Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey and a first-time candidate who is a former registered Republican. Ms. Murphy has locked up much of the institutional support in a state where county leaders hold enormous power in primary campaigns, but has struggled to gain grass-roots traction.
Mr. Kim is leading by double digits in some recent polls.
In an interview, Mr. Fetterman said that he was “enthusiastic” about Mr. Kim and that Ms. Murphy’s political background — she changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat only in 2014 — gave him pause.
“One of the most important things is that we have a reliable Democratic vote,” Mr. Fetterman said. “We have to run this table in ’24 in order to maintain the majority. But we need to count on every Democratic vote. Andy Kim is the kind of guy we can count on.”
Mr. Fetterman said Ms. Murphy was likely “a lovely woman, but the last time I had to deal with a Republican from New Jersey, that was my own race.” Mr. Fetterman in 2022 defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for Senate whom he trolled relentlessly as a celebrity carpetbagger from the Garden State.
“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,” Mr. Fetterman said. Mr. Kim, he said, is a known figure and a “distinguished member of Congress who has been working really, really hard.”
Mr. Kim said he appreciated the support in a Senate race that he said was shaping up to be the most dramatic in New Jersey history.
“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,” Mr. Kim said in an interview. “Senator Menendez is still in, and working. That’s made this dynamic more complicated. Senator Fetterman’s willingness to lean forward — I appreciate that. He doesn’t have to. It’s a very complicated race.”
Mr. Kim, a soft-spoken former national security official in the Obama administration, pitched himself as the proven candidate New Jersey voters need to restore their faith in politics.
“Right now, 84 percent of people in New Jersey believe that their politicians are corrupt,” he said, calling the indictment of Mr. Menendez the “breaking point” for many voters. “At some point, you’re just like, how can democracy function at that level of lack of trust? A lot of people want someone who can just step in on day one and immediately do the job.”
Mr. Kim echoed Mr. Fetterman’s charge that Ms. Murphy would not necessarily be a reliable Democratic vote in the Senate, noting that she switched parties well after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.
“She voted in every single Republican primary during the Obama administration,” Mr. Kim said. “She’s going to have to explain that.”
The race is complicated, in part, because the seat is not technically open. Mr. Menendez, who stepped aside as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee after being charged in September with accepting cash bribes and gold bars in exchange for political favors, has denied any wrongdoing and accused the Justice Department of targeting him in a public smear campaign.
He has defiantly refused to resign, though he has not formally announced a campaign for re-election. He is polling at 6 percent favorability among New Jersey voters. Mr. Fetterman said: “I don’t really trust polls. Six percent seems actually high for his approval.”
Mr. Kim on Thursday was also set to announce the endorsements of six Democratic House members from Pennsylvania: Representatives Dwight Evans, Madeleine Dean, Chrissy Houlahan, Mary Gay Scanlon, Susan Wild and Brendan Boyle.
