New Jersey governor names temporary successor to US Senator Menendez

By Bo Erickson and Jarrett Renshaw

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Friday picked his former chief of staff to replace Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate following his resignation after being convicted of corruption.

Murphy in a statement named fellow Democrat George Helmy to fill Menendez's seat. The move will maintain the party's 51-49 majority in the Senate, until a winner takes office after the Nov. 5 election, when control of Congress and the White House will be up for grabs.

Democratic Representative Andy Kim, who is seeking Menendez' seat in the election, is expected to beat Republican real estate developer Curtis Bashaw in the heavily Democratic state, which has not elected a Republican senator since 1978.

Helmy will serve until the winner of the election is certified on Nov. 27, at which point Murphy will appoint the winner to serve until the new Senate is sworn in on Jan. 3.

Republicans are favored to capture a Senate majority in the November election as Democrats seek to defend seats in multiple states that Donald Trump won in the 2020 election.

Helmy served as Murphy’s chief of staff until October.

"George is the model of integrity we need to help restore public trust in our state’s leadership," Murphy said in a statement.

Currently an executive at a healthcare company, Helmy earlier in his career worked for U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Senator Frank Lautenberg.

"While I am honored to serve and provide New Jersey with a Senate office that they can depend on, I commit to stepping down early to give the duly elected Senator the chance to begin their work," Helmy said in a statement.

Menendez, 70, said he would end his three-decade congressional career on Aug. 20 after a federal jury in New York on July 16 convicted him in an influence-peddling scheme, on charges including obstruction of justice, wire fraud and extortion.

Prosecutors argued the senior lawmaker used his influence in Congress to negotiate billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Egypt in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and car and mortgage payments from three businessmen.

Menendez's son, U.S. Representative Rob Menendez, represents a New Jersey congressional district, similar to the district his father represented earlier in his career.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Scott Malone, Cynthia Osterman and Daniel Wallis)