Alex Zdan, a conservative former News 12 New Jersey reporter, announced his bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate today, pledging to fight illegal immigration and “fight corruption like no one you’ve ever seen.”
“I’m not a typical politician — boy, am I not,” Zdan said. “But I’ll fight like hell every day for you, your family, and our American future.”
The 38-year-old Mercer County resident joins Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner and hotelier Curtis Bashaw in the top tier of a large field of Republicans seeking to flip the U.S. Senate seat held since 2006 by indicted Democrat Bob Menendez.
Zdan filmed his launch video from the U.S.-Mexico border at Nogales, Arizona, where he observed people crossing through a hole in the wall.
“As your senator, I’ll fight to end drug trafficking and illegal migration, secure our borders, and keep your communities safe,” he said. “Restore businesses devastated by Murphy pandemic shutdowns. And I’ll bring back jobs that reward how hard you’re willing to work, not just what’s written on a college degree.”
His video includes footage of him asking Menendez if he ever spoke to the Egyptian government about halal exports; the senator is facing charges that he took bribes to help a businessman get an exclusive contract for a halal meat company.
“I spent a career as an investigative journalist and newscaster,” Zdan said. “I always went to where the story was. I went to find the truth and hold the powerful accountable.”
He is now the tenth candidate in a race in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1972; since Clifford Case won his fourth term that year, GOP candidates have won in 48 other states, with only Hawaii going longer. Still, in the fourteen gubernatorial elections in New Jersey since 1969, Republicans have each won seven.
The field also includes former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Michael Murphy, Cresskill businessman Fred Schneiderman, entrepreneur Steve Boston, former software sales company owner Brian Jackson, U.S. Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, businessman Michael Estrada, and perennial candidate Gregg Mele, the 2021 Libertarian candidate for governor making his fifth run for public office.
Zdan finished third at the Hunterdon County GOP convention on Wednesday; he attended the Union Republican convention on Thursday but did not compete there. Serrano Glassner won both contests.
The eventual winner of the Republican primary is expected to face either Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) or First Lady Tammy Murphy, the two top Democratic candidates for the seat. Also seeking the nomination are former Newark school board member and civil rights leader Lawrence Hamm and progressive activist Patricia Campos-Medina. Menendez has not yet announced if he will seek re-election.