Will Mikie Sherrill run for Bob Menendez's Senate seat? We now have an answer

One rumored candidate to become New Jersey's next U.S. senator has taken herself out of consideration: North Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill.

In a statement Monday, the Montclair congresswoman's District 11 office confirmed she is "not running" to replace Bob Menendez, even as Democratic leaders in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., continued to call for his resignation after Menendez's federal indictment on bribery charges.

Washington, D.C., website Punchbowl News first reported on Sherrill's intention to stay out of the race.

Speculation has heightened since Menendez's Sept. 22 indictment that Sherrill, a three-term Democrat whose district was once a Republican stronghold, could enter the primary next year to challenge the senator. She has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for governor in 2025 but thus far hasn't publicly discussed any plans for that office.

A fellow member of Congress, Central Jersey Democrat Andy Kim, declared his intention to run for Senate after the indictment was announced.

Authorities allege that Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for helping them enrich themselves or to quash investigations against them.

Menendez has denied the charges and vowed to fight them in court and stay in his Senate seat. His current term runs out at the end of 2024.

Column: Can Bob Menendez survive? The politics and evidence are very different this time | Stile

“I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be," he said in an appearance last month. "The people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent," he added, referring to previous corruption charges that resulted in a hung jury in 2017.

But with many top Garden State Democrats now calling for his resignation, including Gov. Phil Murphy and fellow U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, talk has grown about whom Murphy would appoint to replace Menendez should he step down — or who might challenge him for next year's nomination.

Others in New Jersey's congressional delegation who have signaled ambitions for higher office include U.S. Reps. Donald Norcross, Josh Gottheimer and Frank Pallone Jr.

Sherrill and Gottheimer, among others, are also rumored candidates to replace Murphy after his second term ends in 2025. So far, Sherrill has deflected talk of interest in the governor's chair. Jersey City Mayor Stephen Fulop is a declared Democratic candidate for the governor's race. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has said he's considering a run.

Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, a Republican, announced her intention to run for Senate in 2024, citing Menendez's "career of cronyism," just days before the Menendez indictment was handed down.

"New Jersey deserves better than this dark cloud of corruption that has been following Bob Menendez for a decade," Glasner said.

The Republican Senate primary field also includes Andover resident and small-business owner Daniel Cruz, immigration attorney and self-described "Latina Mama Bear" Shirley Maia-Cusick and Clark-based attorney Gregg Mele, who ran for governor as a libertarian candidate in 2022.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com; Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Will Mikie Sherrill challenge Menendez for NJ Senate? Now we know