Latina group floats Judge Esther Salas as possible Senate candidate

With indicted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez on a downward political trajectory, the Latina Civic PAC is urging state Democrats to consider Latina candidates for his seat, and U.S. District Court Esther Salas is among the possible options the group is proposing.

In 2020, Salas’s family tragically made headlines when a misogynistic lawyer posed as a FedEx driver, arrived at Salas’s New Jersey home, and shot and killed her son, Daniel Anderl; state and federal laws protecting judges’ home addresses have since been passed in Anderl’s honor. Salas, a Cuban American from Union City, had been nominated to the District Court by Barack Obama in 2011 at Menendez’s recommendation.

A former Hispanic Bar Association president and federal magistrate judge, Salas has never shown any interest in running for elected office. If Menendez resigns and Gov. Phil Murphy were to appoint a replacement, however, that may be a different story – especially if Murphy intends to choose a caretaker who won’t run for a full term in 2024.

Latina Civic PAC also proposed four other Latina Senate options: State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), State Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Barrington), and activist Patricia Campos-Medina, a former leader of Latina Civic PAC. The group’s current leader, Pinelands Commission Chair and former Legislative Apportionment Commission member Laura Matos, could also be a possible candidate, though she was not on the list of candidates proposed.

“There have been many media reports and public discussions including speculation about potential candidates for that seat in 2024,” Latina Civic PAC said in a statement. “But, sadly, none of the individuals discussed are members of New Jersey’s fastest growing minority population and largest non-white voting bloc, Latinos… [Latina Civic PAC] strongly believe[s] that there is a responsibility to keep this seat representative of our state’s significant Latino population.”

Menendez, for his part, vociferously denies the federal bribery charges levied against him. So far, the senator has refused to resign, and Latina Civic PAC did not explicitly call for him to do so; it’s less clear whether he intends to run for re-election next year.

Menendez was the first Latino to represent New Jersey in Congress, and remains one of only six Hispanic members of the United States Senate. But there is a relative dearth of other high-ranking Hispanic politicians in state politics – next on the list is Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), the senator’s son – and few of the top potential candidates for his seat next year are Hispanic.

This story was updated at 5:40 p.m. with a correction: Salas is from Union City, not Jersey City.