Senator Cory Booker will be the Garden State’s junior senator for just 12 more days.
He will assume the role of senior senator on August 20 when Bob Menendez, convicted last month on federal corruption charges, officially resigns.
Booker said he’s not spoken with Menendez since the latter was convicted last month of taking bribes, conspiracy, and illegally acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, but Booker has spoken with Gov. Phil Murphy about who to appoint as Menendez’s successor.
Booker didn’t specify what his conversations with Murphy looked like or who he may have suggested for the role, but he said he trusts the governor will “make the right choice.” Booker told the New Jersey Globe about these discussions after a Thursday morning farm tour that served as the first leg of his annual summer tour of the Garden State.
“I think the governor recognizes that when you have an appointment like this, not only is it a chance to put a really qualified person in that seat, but also maybe make a little history or make a statement,” Booker told the Globe. “And I’m excited about the possibilities he has before him.”
The person Murphy chooses could fill Menendez’s seat until the newly elected Senate takes office on January 3.
The leading candidate to serve as an interim senator is George Helmy, Murphy’s former chief of staff and Booker’s former deputy chief of staff and state director.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw will face off for a six-year term in November.
Menendez filed as an independent in June and has not yet announced if he will remain in the race.