Gov. Phil Murphy shed a little more light on his plans to fill Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat once the convicted senator steps down in August.
Menendez’s resignation is effective Aug. 20 after the senator was found guilty of bribery in a federal corruption trial. The governor must now pick a new person to fill the seat for the remainder of the term.
The Democratic senator was found guilty of taking bribes and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
Menendez’s seat is up for grabs this November. He previously announced he would not seek reelection as a Democrat and instead filed to run as an independent.
Three-term Democratic Rep. Andy Kim won the Democratic primary in June to fill the seat.
A News 12 New Jersey viewer asked Murphy on News 12’s “
Ask Gov. Murphy” program why not appoint Kim now to give him some seniority.
Murphy responded, “There's no news to make, nothing's off the table right now. It's early days, bear with us, God willing, we'll land in a place that's going to do right by New Jersey."
First lady Tammy Murphy previously ran a campaign for the Senate seat. Following Menendez’s resignation, Tammy Murphy issued a statement saying that she would not accept a nomination to fill Menendez’s seat.
Election Day is Nov. 5.