An aide said that Ms. Murphy, the wife of Gov.
Philip D. Murphy, had held a meeting with county Democratic Party leaders at 2 p.m. on Sunday before making a final decision and notifying her campaign staff members.
Ms. Murphy, 58, entered the race in November and was instantly endorsed by a coalition of influential party leaders, including many whose livelihoods were dependent on the governor, who has nearly two years left in his term.
Since then, Mr. Kim has successfully yoked Ms. Murphy’s campaign to what he called the same style of “broken politics” that nurtured and protected Mr. Menendez for decades.
The first independent poll of the race showed Ms. Murphy trailing Mr. Kim by 12 percentage points.
Persons:
Murphy, Philip D, Kim, Menendez
Organizations:
Democratic Party, Benz