With U.S. Senator Bob Menendez set to resign from the Senate on August 20, the two major-party candidates vying for his Senate seat – Democratic Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and Republican developer Curtis Bashaw – say that they’re grateful New Jersey can move on from the convicted senator.
“Senator Menendez has made the right decision for New Jersey by agreeing to step down next month,” Kim said. “It’s time for New Jersey to move forward. We have big challenges ahead of us, and we can only tackle them if we show the people of our state that this is the beginning of a new era of politics built on integrity, service, and delivering for all families.”
“It comes as a relief to our state that Senator Menendez is announcing his resignation, saving New Jersey the embarrassment of a drawn-out expulsion process,” Bashaw said. “After being convicted of selling out our country to the Egyptian government, his presence in the US Senate presents a national security risk to our country.”
Last week, Menendez was found guilty on 16 counts of bribery, extortion, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and obstruction of justice. The verdict brought to an end a lengthy legal saga that began last September, when the charges against Menendez were unsealed (and when Menendez’s political fortunes plummeted); the trial itself lasted from mid-May until mid-July.
Menendez has pledged to appeal the ruling, but facing widespread calls for his resignation from his fellow senators, he ultimately chose to step down, saying in his resignation letter that he “do[es] not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work.”
It will now fall to Gov. Phil Murphy to appoint someone to fill out the remainder of Menendez’s term, which will end on January 3, 2025. Kim has said he would be open to serving if asked, but Bashaw strongly pushed back on that suggestion today, saying that Murphy should instead choose a caretaker for the seat.
“As Governor Murphy moves to appoint a replacement to his seat, I once again call on him to let voters make the ultimate decision of who should hold this seat in November’s election,” Bashaw said. “The Governor should appoint a caretaker to this seat, as is the long-standing New Jersey tradition, and not give either candidate the advantage of incumbency in this election.”
“As this sordid scandal comes to a close, voters deserve to have confidence that they’ll have the ultimate say in this election – not the Democrat Party bosses who enabled almost two decades of Menendez’s corruption,” he added.
Bashaw previously released a list of names he believed would be suitable caretaker senators, some of whom are realistic options (like Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way) and some of whom, like Daily Show host Jon Stewart or now-Arizona resident Rob Andrews, may be less so.