Gov. Phil Murphy intends to name his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to temporarily fill U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s seat as the election for a permanent replacement plays out.
A source familiar with the talks confirmed to NJ Advance Media on Wednesday night that Helmy is expected to be offered the interim job.
George Helmy
The news was first reported by The New Jersey Globe, which said the expected job offer would come Thursday and the appointment would be announced Friday.
Helmy, 44, is a veteran Democratic political operative, Murphy’s former chief of staff, and still one of his top political advisers. He is a friend and longtime ally of the Democratic governor.
Picking him is similar to what Gov. Chris Christie did when U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg died in 2013. Christie named his longtime ally, state Attorney General Jeff Chiesa, to fill in for Lautenberg.
Spokespeople for the governor’s office did not respond to calls for comment Wednesday night.
During his “Ask Governor Murphy” program on New Jersey’s public radio stations Wednesday night, Murphy would not disclose his choice, saying “we’ll have news sooner or later on that.”
“I’m proud of the fact that we have a very broad-minded (selection) process,” Murphy said. “Really proud of that. We’ll see where it lands.”
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Curtis Bashaw, the Republican candidate, congratulated Helmy, whom he noted “has a wealth of government experience and knows the state of New Jersey well.”
“Governor Murphy did the right thing in appointing a temporary caretaker to this seat and letting New Jersey voters make the ultimate decision on who will best represent them in the United States Senate come November,” Bashaw said in a statement Thursday. “On Election Day, I’m confident New Jerseyans will vote to make a change from the Democratic monopoly that has brought them decades of corruption, higher taxes, and chaos at the border.”
Menendez, a Democrat, was convicted on corruption and bribery charges in July after a nine-week trial in Manhattan. Under pressure from New Jersey and national Democrats — including Murphy — to give up his seat, Menendez announced last month he would resign Aug. 20. His last day will be Tuesday.
Even before Menendez was convicted, a Democratic primary for his seat raged between First Lady Tammy Murphy and U.S. Rep. Andy Kim. A lawsuit by Kim spawned an earth-shaking court decision cutting party bosses’ power to give their candidates better position on the ballot. Tammy Murphy, favored by Democratic leaders, then dropped out of the race, and Kim ultimately won the Democratic nomination.
Tammy Murphy was among those reportedly under consideration by Gov. Murphy to hold the seat on a temporary basis. However, she announced she did not want the job shortly after Menendez resigned.
Many Democrats wanted Murphy to pick Kim, who is facing Republican Curtis Bashaw, a Cape May hotelier, in November’s general election for a full six-year term in Menendez’s seat.
Such a selection would have given Kim an even greater advantage in a state that has not elected a Republican U.S. senator since 1972 — and would have afforded him seniority over other newly elected senators. Republicans urged Murphy, no big fan of Kim after the tough primary, to refrain from putting his thumb on the scale.
Murphy’s choice could serve the remainder of Menendez’s term, which ends Jan. 3. But the governor is expected to appoint Kim, if he wins, after the Nov. 5 election, a source close to the discussions said.
Helmy currently works as an executive vice president for RJWBarnabas Health and is also a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @jelanigibson1 and on LinkedIn.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.