A 2024 Republican challenger to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) dubbed the senator “Gold Bar Bob” after he was indicted on corruption charges Friday.
“The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez is a sad day for New Jersey, but not surprising,” Christine Serrano Glassner said in a statement. “Gold Bar Bob has been battling credible allegations of corruption throughout most of his time in office, all while being protected and enabled by his cronies and allies in Washington.”
Prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to use their influence to help a group of New Jersey businessmen and interests in Egypt.
The FBI found nearly half a million dollars in cash in Menendez’s home last year during a raid, as well as $100,000 in gold bars allegedly given to the senator and his wife by one of the businessmen.
Menendez has denied the charges, calling them a “smear campaign.” He was previously investigated and charged in a separate bribery probe in 2015, but that case was later dropped after a mistrial.
Serrano Glassner is the mayor of Mendham Borough in northern New Jersey. She announced her campaign launch Monday, citing Menendez’s history with corruption allegations.
“Today, I am announcing my decision to run for the U.S. Senate because New Jersey deserves better than this dark cloud of corruption that has been following Bob Menendez for a decade,” she said in a statement.
Her husband, Michael Glassner, is a GOP strategist and close ally to former President Trump who worked on the former Republican president’s 2020 reelection campaign as the chief operating officer. He was also Trump’s deputy campaign manager in the 2016 race.
The new indictment has brought some criticism from Democrats, many of whom supported the senator in the 2015 case. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) called on the senator to resign Friday, becoming the first Democrat to do so.
Menendez is likely to also lose his seat as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as rules require members to step down if they are charged with a felony. He stepped down as committee chairman after the 2015 indictment and was reappointed after those charges were dropped.