Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-Mendham) told the New Jersey Globe today that she will not seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate this year.
There had been speculation in recent weeks that the Morris County lawmaker was considering a run for the seat held since 2006 by Democrat Bob Menendez, now under indictment on federal corruption charges.
“I am especially honored to have been encouraged by so many from around the state to run for the U.S. Senate,” Dunn said. “As a member of the Budget Committee and leadership team in the Assembly, I remain committed to accomplishing the goals I pledged to work on for the constituents of the 25th district.”
A centrist Republican, Dunn had worked for Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) and was once the Capitol Hill lobbyist for Sesame Street. Elected to the State Assembly in 2019, she was a finalist to become Jack Ciattarelli’s running mate in 2021.
Right now, Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner and Cape May County businessman Curtis Bashaw are preparing to face off for the chance to take on the winner of the Democratic primary in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in nearly 52 years.
Former News 12 New Jersey reporter Alex Zdan, former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Michael Murphy, and Melinda Ciattarelli, the separated wife of 2021 GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, are also deciding whether they want to enter the race.
The filing deadline to compete for organization lines in Hunterdon and Somerset counties is tomorrow, leaving a narrow window for some potential candidates to still enter the race.
There are some minor candidates in the GOP race: former Andover Regional School District Board of Education member Daniel Cruz; perennial candidate Gregg Mele, the 2021 Libertarian nominee for governor; small business owner Michael Estrada, who won 1% of the vote in an independent State Assembly bid six years ago; Patrick James Merrill, and former presidential candidate Albert Harshaw.
Menendez has not said if he will seek re-election; the filing deadline is March 25, and his trial is set to begin in May. Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and First Lady Tammy Murphy are seeking the Democratic Senate nomination; so are former Newark school board member Lawrence Hamm and activist Patricia Campos-Medina.