New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has made a decision regarding who will replace Sen. Bob Menendez after he resigns from his position next week following his bribery conviction in July.
Murphy selected his former cabinet chief, George Helmy, to fill up the seat for the remainder of Menendez's term. The embattled official said in July he will step down from his post on August 20. Helmy will be sworn in on September 9 when the Senate reconvenes after the summer recess.
"George is the ideal leader to take on this role," Murphy said during the announcement. He added that he is familiar with the inner workings of the Senate, considering he was a staffer for local senators in the past.
Helmy worked for NJ Sen. Cory Booker in different roles, including state director. He was also an aide to late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the governor's office added.
"George understands on a very fundamental level how a U.S. Senate office operates, and he will be ready to run this office from moment one, and he will bring to this office firsthand expertise in providing the best possible constituent service" to families, Murphy said.
Today I am proud to announce that I will appoint George Samir Helmy to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Menendez.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) August 16, 2024
George will serve with honesty and integrity and is the ideal leader to take on this interim role. https://t.co/nmaHWyE1xJ pic.twitter.com/AJypDhFrOC
"That expertise will be especially relevant over the next few months as the presidential election rapidly approaches and as the Senate will be in recess as a result for much of the fall."
Helmy, on his end, said that "our residents deserve a functioning Senate office upon which they can call for help." "Relying on my familiarity with the Senate and my deep knowledge of the issues facing this state, I will stand as our second crucial voice in the Democratic caucus, under Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the important items that will come before us over the next months," he added.
Helmy's successor will be determined in November. The front-runner is Democratic lawmaker Andy Kim, who was initially Menendez's main contender in the party's primary but ended up as the party's representative as the incumbent lost support amid his trial.
Menendez filed to run as an independent before his conviction, but most polls showed him with single-digit levels of support, unable to make a clear run without the Democratic party behind him. Even though he did not expressly say he won't take part in November's elections, his chances of regaining a seat are slim to none.
FiveThirtyEight's poll aggregator shows Kim with a solid lead over Republican candidate Curtis Bashaw. The latest surveys, which took place in late June, analyzed two scenarios: one with Menendez in contention and one without.
The former had 810 respondents and showed Menendez with only 3% of the support. Rep. Andy Kim was in the lead with 39% compared to Bashaw's 33%. Predictably, the scenario didn't change much without the current senator in the equation: Kim led with 41% while bashaw had 34%.
There has not bee much change in the candidates' levels of support over the past few months. A series of surveys by Fairleigh Dickinson University in early April also considered different scenarios, but Kim kept the lead in all of them.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
