TRENTON, New Jersey -- New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is slated to resign by the end of the day Tuesday, about a month after a jury convicted him on federal bribery charges. Menendez signaled his resignation last month in a letter to Democratic Gov.
Phil Murphy, who said Friday he's tapping a former top aide to succeed the three-term incumbent. George Helmy will succeed Menendez until the November election results for the Senate seat are certified late in the month, the governor said. At that point, Murphy said Helmy will resign and he'll name the winner of the election to the seat.
The stakes in the Senate election are high, with Democrats holding on to a narrow majority. Republicans have not won a Senate election in Democratic-leaning New Jersey in over five decades. Democratic Rep.
Andy Kim and Republican hotel developer Curtis Bashaw are facing off in the general election. Helmy, 44, served as Murphy's chief of staff from 2019 until 2023 and currently serves as an executive at one of the state's largest health care providers, RWJBarnabas Health. He previously served as Sen.
Cory Booker's state director in the Senate. Menendez, 70, was convicted on charges that he used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect the businessmen. Prosecutors said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egyp.