Calls are growing for Sen. Bob Menendez to step down as senior senator in New Jersey amid his indictment for alleged bribery.

Sen. Cory Booker joined more than a dozen fellow Democratic senators calling on Menendez to resign.

Booker, a longtime ally of Menendez, stated that stepping down is not an admission of guilt, but “an acknowledgement that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifice at great personal cost. I believe stepping down is the best for those Sen. Menendez has spent his life serving.”

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This comes as Jersey City Mayor Stephen Fulop tweeted out support for New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy to throw her hat in the Senate ring. Fulop is a current gubernatorial candidate.

“Every couple years in late September, it seems I do something that helps the Murphys politically - I know social media feeds on critics but that said - to be fair if you look at Tammy’s work objectively she has been very engaged in NJ issues, poverty issues, infant mortality issues, disaster recovery, she is competent and would be a good senator,” Fulop wrote.

Meanwhile, one of Menendez’s co-defendants, businessman Wael Hana, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court Tuesday afternoon.