first lady Tammy Murphy is rolling in endorsements her campaign for US Senate today wrecked up another 100 backers from the party organization all from Bergen County ranging from local Mayors to County leaders and state officials but don't accuse her of leveraging the power of the governor's office to gain those supporters a senior political correspondent David Cruz reports Murphy's Camp claims she's the target of sexism within the senate race attacks she wouldn't face if she were a man first lady of New Jersey is not a constitutional office you are the governor's spouse but in the hands of Tammy Murphy first ladies become almost the co-gn exactly what the Murphy's intended from day one are you the quarterback of Team Murphy um I think you probably could say that but but uh you know we all we're pretty seamless I would say Phil and I have worked together as a team for a long time but being the quarterback that's kind of fun I I will tell the team that that's what I am going forward yes and she's kept her word with an office across the hall from the governor and environment education and reproductive Health among the issues in her portfolio but when she declared for US Senate you started to hear Whispers some louder than others about nepotism and questions about experience the Governor from whose connections the first lady SLC candidate is presumed by some to be benefiting was asked about it on his monthly call-in show I bet you if she were my husband it would be a different story the first lady adding a few days later that she might be more acceptable to some if her name was Tommy Murphy now the campaign is fundraising on the theme nearly everywhere she goes it says in an email appeal tami's held to a higher standard and faces tougher questions than most men but it's not quite that simple says Jean szac of the Center for American women in politics yes to the idea of a gender double standard at place she says but also yes to like your husband's the most powerful Democrat in the state it's much more common to to use the words unqualified going talking about women candidates than than you know male candidates even if they have the same amount of qualifications even if she's more qualified than the men in the race it's just so that's real um so I don't want to Discount that right like that's a real thing then this particular situation is so unique and so this is much more about the party line and the problem with the system than it is about her gender biases are still everywhere in politics says Glenn Rock mayor Christine Moro who just endorsed Murphy a lot of it has to do with knowing what it's like to experience the subtle and the Not So subtle like people always asking what her husband thinks about her running for mayor and that's so only funnier after you know we've been introduced into a room of new people and they say oh the mayor of Glenrock is here and someone will inevitably walk up to my husband and go to shake his hand there's another woman in this race now and the black man and for that matter an Asian guy so the rich white woman is not going to get a lot of sympathy for long According to some we have had Senators before who have come from outside the political realm who have not had political experience you had Bill Bradley who was a basketball player right you you had Frank lenberg who was from the business world the onus was on that and they were men and the onus was on them to demonstrate that they had um the competence to serve in the Senate that's how she's got to ultimately answer this not with you're being unfair not with you picking on me not with you know I'm a woman you've got to answer this back by showing I've got the experience to serve in the Senate and if that fails there's always the county machine big donors and high-profile family members to fall back on I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight News [Music]