Congressman Andy Kim delivered a decisive blow to Tammy Murphy's campaign for US Senate this weekend winning the backing of the Monmouth County Democratic party Kim scored nearly 57% of the vote during the state's first Democratic Convention for the primary election it's considered an important task in the fight to replace embattled senior US senator Bob Menendez especially because it was one in the first lady's home county and comes as her campaign secured support from County Party leaders up and down the state Saturday's convention in Long Branch saw hundreds of local party leaders along with Rank and file committee members turn out to choose their preferred candidate for the June 6th primary Murphy had better luck though during the day's convention in pic County which awarded her the line and while these are mostly symbolic events insiders say it shows the momentum Kim's campaign is garnering at the Grassroots level which could prove critical in going up against the Party Machine senior political correspondent David Cruz reports if you look at Saturday's Mammoth County Democratic Convention like the Iowa caucuses you know that winning here doesn't guarantee a victory in the June primary so the 57% to 39% trouncing by Congressman Andy Kim over first lady Tammy Murphy is big for the winter but certainly not determinative yes you know a long way to go but what I think this does is that it really shows that this race is up for grabs you know I think there was a a lot of thinking that the the first lady because of of her ability to to lock up some of those County Chairs early um because of of the power of their family I think it shows that uh that's not true that this is not something that there's nothing inevitable here there's nothing Unstoppable here you know this is very much going to be and we should want it to be a choice for the people of New Jersey to make indeed for all its first in the State Convention status Mammoth where Murphy lives and parts of which Kim represents in Congress produces around 6% of the state's Democratic voters in heavily Democratic counties like Hudson Essex and Bergen where the party bosses make the picks tamy Murphy's already won the line and all the benefits thereof analyst mik Rasmussen says that's true but adds that was another takeaway from the convention don't counter out just yet on the other hand I think what the andd Kim campaign is saying is we can win Grassroots even in the machine counties don't count your chickens before they hatch we can win votes and committee people and Democratic votes in Essex County in Hudson County in Camden County we can compete we can get Grassroots votes there so you know uh a machine vote isn't necessarily an indication that Tammy Murphy's going to get every vote in those counties we couldn't get anyone from the Murphy campaign to talk with us today but former Mammoth County Democratic chairman state senator Vin goal who's not endorsing anyone in this race says there's plenty of time for Murphy who by the way won the posic county line this weekend to re-calibrate I think that there is frustration that the first endorsements of the state were were Leroy Jones and George Norcross and it was a very top down effect and I think that that rattles folks uh at the Grassroots level whether fair or unfair I can't speak to that I I think a little unfair because I know Tammy Murphy but I know a lot of other people um haven't gotten that because the first thing they got to read was that hey Bob Mendez is uh got gold bars and not your senators and we are going to speak for you on who your new nominee is going to be and that is what rattles a lot of the ranking file activist Patricia compos is also in this race she got around 4% of the vote this weekend and says this is a year where party bosses are facing their own challenge this was a test of whether her machine her operation actually could leave up to a challenge from the Grassroots opposition to the machine now that energy right now is with Andy Kim because he's being added for three months but so so that is a big blow to their belief that they didn't have to work that hard to earn borders trust in the end only three presidents since 1972 won their Iowa caucuses and just three Iowa losers went on to win the presidency all Republicans take from that what you will but a win is a win right now and in a closely watched primary the momentum it seems is officially with this weekend's winner I'm David Cruz and Spotlight news