Tammy Murphy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of New Jersey[a] | |
| Assumed role January 16, 2018 | |
| Governor | Phil Murphy |
| Preceded by | Mary Pat Christie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tammy Snyder August 5, 1965 Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (before 2014) Democratic (2014–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Virginia (BA) |
Tammy Murphy (née Snyder; born August 5, 1965)[1] is an American homemaker, soccer team owner, and political candidate who has been the first lady of New Jersey since 2018, an informal position in the state. She co-owns professional women's soccer team NJ/NY Gotham FC, with her husband, the 56th Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, and chairs the organization. Murphy was a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs from 1987 to 1989. She is a candidate for the United States Senate in the 2024 election.
Tammy Murphy was born Tammy Snyder in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[2] Her parents, Edward and Jean, owned car dealerships.[3] Edward was Jewish.[4] She attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and English.[2][1]
After graduating college, Murphy went to work in finance as an analyst for Goldman Sachs in the real estate department from 1987 to 1989.[5] She left Goldman at the age of 24 to work mainly at Investcorp in London for three years, from 1990 to 1993, but quit at the age of 27 "to marry Mr. Murphy [on August 6, 1993] and move to Frankfurt, Germany, where he was working at the time."[6][7]
In 2014 she and her husband founded New Start New Jersey, a think tank she chaired which ceased operations in 2017.[2] She has sat on the boards of her children's schools, the private Rumson Country Day School and the boarding school Phillips Andover, as well as on that of the Count Basie Center for the Arts, among others.[5] Murphy was appointed to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors in 2015.[8]
Murphy grew up a Republican. Sources differ as to when she became a Democrat. The New York Times reported that she continued to vote as a Republican in primary elections until 2014.[9] She made donations to Republican candidates, including George W. Bush and the New Jersey Republican Party.[2] Murphy, notwithstanding her voting record up to 2014 as Republican, has stated that she changed political parties in the mid-2000s based on her stances on issues such as abortion, gun control, and the environment. Her husband, Phil Murphy, became the Democratic National Committee's finance chair in 2006.[2] Al Gore recruited her to be a founding member of the environmental group The Climate Reality Project.[2]
Murphy was active in her husband's 2017 campaign for Governor of New Jersey. Phil called her his "de-facto finance chair."[2] She also participated in campaign events with and without her husband.[2][10] Phil Murphy was elected Governor on November 7, 2017,[11] and sworn in to office on January 16, 2018.[12]
She voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election as one of New Jersey's 14 presidential electors.[13]
Although she does not receive a salary or hold an official title, Governor Murphy has enabled Murphy to take on a policy portfolio as First Lady. More visible in the role than her predecessors, the governor made Murphy the first spouse of a New Jersey Governor to give her own speech at the inauguration. Governor Murphy additionally gave her an office, down the hall from his.[14] Notwithstanding the lack of an official role for first spouse in New Jersey, Murphy is listed on the Office of the Governor's official government website as a member of his "administration," with a portrait.[15] The governor has also directed at least one member of his staff to report to Murphy as her "chief of staff."[16]
In 2021, Murphy was appointed Honorary Chair of the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy.[17] Murphy was influential in global warming/climate change becoming part of school curriculum in New Jersey.[18]
On November 15, 2023, Murphy announced her candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in New Jersey against incumbent Bob Menendez and U.S. House Representative Andy Kim.[19] On November 17, 2023, New Jersey congressman Josh Gottheimer endorsed Murphy.[20] Within the following week, Murphy was endorsed by four additional New Jersey Democratic congresspeople — Reps. Frank Pallone, Donald Norcross, Bill Pascrell, and Donald Payne Jr.[21]
Politico reported that, at her campaign launch, "Murphy highlighted...her work to reduce racial disparities in maternal mortality...[as] Murphy founded Nurture NJ to reduce infant mortality in New Jersey and its large racial disparity, with Black mothers far more likely to die from childbirth-related complications," while also addressing criticisms emerging against her, including how, "Murphy...has run a political nonprofit...that promotes her husband’s policies but has refused requests to disclose its donors," how, "She was named in a lawsuit against the State Police for allegedly refusing to allow a trooper to pump breast milk on [Murphy's] property," how, "...the women’s soccer team she and her husband co-own, Gotham FC, was found...to have provided poor living and playing conditions, prompting Murphy to become more hands-on with the club," and, finally, how, "A 2017 Phil Murphy campaign volunteer named Katie Brennan had claimed that one of its top staffers sexually assaulted her," which, "She tried telling both the governor and first lady...but they did not follow up on a promised meeting," causing Brennan to state that, "[Murphy] never responded, she did nothing. She stood at the women’s march and told her own harrowing story[22]...But when approached and given the opportunity to lead and help others, she didn’t".[23]
Following Murphy's announcement, media and campaign opponents suggested her candidacy benefitted from political nepotism and highlighted how she had previously been a Republican donor and had voted in the Republican primary elections as recently as 2014.[23][24]
Early in the campaign, The Daily Beast criticized the fact that Phil and Tammy Murphy's blind trust was being managed by her brother, Steve Snyder. The publication consulted Gary Altman, a D.C. estate planning attorney, who advised that, "...a blind trust guided by a family member...won’t fly in D.C. [as] The federal Ethics and Government Act...does not allow a family member to steer an elected official’s [trust]," specifically saying, "'I think the real world logic of that is, if your brother is controlling your money, he’s not going to tell you how he’s investing it?'". Dan Bryan, a Murphy spokesperson, meanwhile defended, “The establishment of the blind trust, which ensures the public that the governor’s decisions are based solely on the public benefit," saying, "Gov. Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy worked with the New Jersey State Ethics Commission to set up a voluntary blind trust that complies with the rules that govern New Jersey elected officials...[as] She believes strongly in transparency [and] accountability".[25]
As early as 2023, media reported on the significance of county-level Democratic leadership in the eventual primary. On December 5, NPR wrote that, "Endorsements from the county party organizations are a key feature of New Jersey's unique voting system," as, "All but two of the state's counties endorse candidates for the primary and then place their endorsed candidates all in one line...called 'the county line' or 'the party line'...[which] start with the incumbent president at the top, and give the impression of legitimacy to each candidate who follows".[26] On December 22, The New York Times added that, "No New Jersey legislative incumbent chosen to run on the county line in all of the counties he or she represented has lost a primary election since 2009," suggesting the advantage of, within the first three days of her candidacy, "...Ms. Murphy, a first-time candidate with limited experience, ha[ving] lined up backing from Democratic leaders in one-third of the state’s counties, representing 56 percent of New Jersey’s registered Democratic voters". In the same article, The Times described this system as akin to voter suppression and, in Murphy's case, nepotistic, as, "...six of the seven county leaders who endorsed Ms. Murphy within three days of her entry in the race also have financial incentives to please the governor"; a spokeswoman for the Murphy campaign, meanwhile, defended the endorsements, saying, "...the first lady was working within the system that exists," and that, "The early endorsements were the result of 'deep relationships she has built' and 'her record'".[27]
On December 21, 2023, the New Jersey state senate president and Union County Democratic chairman, Nicholas Scutari, endorsed Murphy in the federal senate race. According to New Jersey Globe, Murphy had, by then, been endorsed by Democratic county chairs in Bergen, Camden, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic, Somerset, and Union counties.[28]
In January 2024, the New York Times reported on an audio recording that portrayed a staffer for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee calling executives of the College Democrats of New Jersey as they met prior to endorsing Murphy's rival, Andy Kim, in the senate race. Over the course of two hours the staffer exerted pressure on the college group, offering for Murphy to call them and, eventually, threatening that a Kim endorsement could, "...harm their future job prospects, deprive their organization of...funding and hurt their odds of being selected as delegates to the Democratic National Convention". A Murphy campaign spokesperson stated that the State Committee staffer's comments were, “...totally and completely inappropriate, and they in no way represent this campaign or what we stand for," having been, "...made by a young person with no connection to our campaign"; Tammy Murphy, meanwhile, called the College Democrats of New Jersey's vice president to apologize.[29]
Tammy Snyder met Phil Murphy in 1987 when she was a college student and the future governor was dating a friend. They met again when they were both employees of Goldman Sachs. Their paths crossed a few times, but they did not work closely together. Tammy reached out to Phil in 1993 after the death of his brother and the two had dinner. They were engaged 18 days later and married six months after that.[2] They celebrated their 30th anniversary in August 2023.[30]
The Murphys have four children, Josh, Emma, Charlie, and Sam.[1] The family members are all fans of soccer, including playing family soccer matches. In 2000, the family moved to Middletown Township, New Jersey. They moved to Germany for four years while Phil was serving as ambassador.[2] The Murphys are friends of Jon Bon Jovi and his family, their neighbors in Middletown.[31]