Booker has spoken with Murphy about Menendez’s Senate replacement

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has spoken with Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) about Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) Senate replacement.

Menendez will resign from his seat effective Aug. 20 following his felony conviction in a corruption case. Booker will become the state’s senior senator after Menendez’s resignation.

“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 New Jersey Globe. “And I’m excited about the possibilities he has before him.”

Booker said he hasn’t spoken to Menendez since his conviction but trusts the governor to “make the right choice.” Whoever fills Menendez’s seat will be a “lame-duck” appointment who will only be in office until Jan. 3, when whoever wins the November Senate election for the seat takes the mantle.

Menendez was running for his seat as an independent, but it’s not clear if he’s going to continue his run after his resignation. Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw and Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) are the main contenders for the seat. Kim is favored to win in the heavily blue state.

But in the meantime, Murphy must appoint Menendez’s successor. The New Jersey Globe reported 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.

Kim has been floated as a replacement, possibly to get him more experience in the Senate before he may or may not win in November. It would also give him a minor advantage in the race as voters will get to see how he performs in the short amount of time he will get.

Kim said in a Zoom call with reporters earlier in July he “would step up” if Murphy asked him, saying he’d be able to “hit the ground running, with so much at stake right now, to know my way around the Capitol, to know my way around these issues that are there.”

With the appointment, Murphy will have more control over November’s Senate election than what is usual. If Kim is appointed, it could give him a slight incumbent advantage.