by Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor
As Sen. Bob Menendez prepares to face federal corruption charges in court, eight New Jerseyans have filed to run to take his place in the U.S. Senate next year.
Labor leader Patricia Campos-Medina, activist Larry Hamm, and Rep. Andy Kim were the only Democrats to file nominating petitions for the Senate seat after first lady Tammy Murphy’s abrupt exit from the race on Sunday. The deadline for filing petitions was Monday.
Menendez, a Democrat, has said he may seek reelection as an independent in November, but he passed over a primary contest he was all but certain to lose as he faces bribery charges that include claims he acted as a foreign agent. Menendez has denied wrongdoing.
Murphy, whose campaign drew accusations of nepotism because of her husband’s role as governor, said Sunday she withdrew from the contest after it became clear remaining in the race would require mudslinging.
Five Republicans filed to seek their party’s nod, though former television reporter Alex Zdan was not among them. Zdan ended his campaign Monday to spare the GOP a contentious primary, he said.
Hotelier Curtis Bashaw and Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner are leading the GOP field after securing Republican organizational lines in some counties.
The two front-runners face former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy — whose nominating petitions bear just 1,053 signatures and are vulnerable to a challenge that could knock him off the ballot — plus Navy veteran Albert Harshaw and Peter Vallorisi, who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to then-Rep. Scott Garrett in 2016.
New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1972.
Third District
Eight candidates also filed to run for the House seat Kim is ceding to mount his Senate bid.
Most notable are Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington) and Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D-Burlington), former running mates who now find themselves on the opposite ends of a contest. Conaway is the favorite to win after winning the county line in all three of the district’s counties.
Joe Cohn, Brian Schkeeper, and Sarah Schoengood are also seeking the Democratic nod there. Schoengood is a co-plaintiff in Kim’s constitutional challenge of New Jersey’s unique ballot design.
Rajesh Mohan leads the Republican field in the district after winning all three of the district’s county lines. Michael Faccone and former independent congressional candidate Greg Sobocinski are also in the running.
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