Signorello will announce challenge to Kean this month

Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello will switch races, dropping his challenge to Bob Menendez in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary and instead will challenge freshman Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district.

Signorello told the New Jersey Globe that he will formally announce his congressional run within the next two weeks.

“My team registered with the FEC to prep for a formal launch this July for CD7.   Since the beginning of this year there’s been a groundswell of grassroots folks who’ve been asking me to run given the spirited fight we put up in LD-21 in a tough year for Democrats, Signorello said  “Much more to come in the next few weeks but the district is winnable, and we’re chomping at the bit to get our message out. (I’m) excited to show NJ and CD-7 what we’ve got.”

The New Jersey Globe first reported that Signorello was considering a switch to a House run.

He will become the second candidate to join what Democrats view as one of the most competitive congressional seats in the nation — and one critical to their hopes of flipping the House in 2024. 

Sue Altman, the state director of New Jersey Working Families, announced her bid to take on Kean on May 31 and raised more than $200,000 in her first four weeks as a candidate.

Former State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) and Jason Blazakis, a former State Department counterterrorism expert are also mulling bids for Kean’s seat.

The 35-year-old Signorello was elected mayor in 2018, defeating Republican Willian Fahoury by a 54%-27% margin.  Incumbent Carl Hokanson, a Democrat running for re-election as an independent, finished third with 18%.  He was easily re-elected in 2022.

Signorello lives slightly outside the 7th district; he lives instead in the 10th district, represented by Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark).  He ran for Kean’s open State Senate seat in 2017 but lost to Republican Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) by eight points.

In February, Signorello announced he would take on Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.