Gov. Phil Murphy declined to confirm that George Helmy is his pick to fill New Jersey’s soon-to-be-vacated U.S. Senate seat. Several sources and news outlets Thursday said the governor will appoint his close friend and former chief of staff to replace disgraced Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
Speaking on Fox5 Thursday morning, Murphy acknowledged the reports about Helmy. “Yup, that is the rumor,” Murphy said. “He’s a great guy, great professional, great human being — but nothing official, nothing to report.”
Murphy promised an official announcement over the next couple of days.
Helmy would serve as placeholder for a few months as voters will elect a new U.S. senator in November.
Polls currently put Rep. Andy Kim (D-3rd) ahead of Republican challenger Curtis Bashaw in that race.
Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said. “If you are Governor Murphy, there is no one closer, there is no one who has meant more to your administration, there is no one who has meant more to your political success than George Helmy. He is a consummate insider. I think, personally, it makes a lot of sense,” referring to Helmy likely being named to fill the Senate seat temporarily.
The choice also drew criticism. Ross Baker, a professor in political science at Rutgers University, posted on the social media site X, that Murphy’s decision “reminds us of his boosting wife Tammy for the job. Murphy’s ex-chief of staff is like a relative. Murphy disses Andy Kim and blocks his getting seniority.”
Republicans vehemently opposed choosing Kim to serve the remainder of Menendez’s Senate term.
Some Democrats had urged Murphy to appoint Patricia Campos-Medina — who ran in the Democratic primary against Kim — to the temporary position.
Helmy did not respond to requests for comment. The 44-year-old Jersey City native joined Murphy’s staff in 2019, where he helped stabilize the administration’s shaky relationship with state legislators. He’s currently an executive with RWJ Barnabas Health, which is an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News.
A federal jury last month convicted Menendez on 16 counts, including bribery and corruption. Menendez resigned, effective Aug. 20. He filed to run for reelection as an independent and has until Aug. 16 to remove his name from the ballot.
