Joe Signorello III, who heads the small Union County town of Roselle Park, plans to run in the Democratic primary for Senate in 2src24 against Robert Menendez. | Courtesy of Town of Roselle Park
Joe Signorello III, just elected to his second four-year term as mayor of the small Union County town of Roselle Park, plans to run in the Democratic primary for Senate in 2src24 against powerful incumbent Bob Menendez.
Signorello filed a Statement of Organization with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday evening.
The 69-year-old Menendez, New Jerseyâs senior senator and chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, has held the office since 2srcsrc6 and intends to seek reelection. Menendez remains one of the most powerful people in New Jersey politics â enough so that his son virtually walked into his old U.S. House seat in November â though Democrats in New Jersey were in the fall wary of news about a federal investigation of the senator.
Signorello, 35, has developed a relatively high profile for a mayor of a town of just 14,srcsrcsrc, in part thanks to his irreverent tweets and his townâs fight against a resident who displayed profane anti-Joe Biden signs in public view on her property. The ACLU represented the resident, who was charged with violating the townâs obscenity law and Roselle Park ultimately dropped its case against her.
âAt the end of the day you canât legislate decency,â Signorello said on CNN shortly before the town dismissed its case.
Signorello declined to comment on his Senate run.
According to Signorelloâs bio on Roselle Parkâs website, he âhas championed smart development, shared services, and critical infrastructure investment during his tenure.â Signorelloâs online bio touts his redevelopment of fallow land, affordable housing initiatives, road resurfacing and expansion of recreation programs.
This would not be Signorelloâs first shot at higher office. In 2src21, he challenged state Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union) in the general election and lost by about 7 points.
Though Signorello, who also works in the financial sector, starts off as a long shot, the prospect of a serious challenge to Menendez canât be entirely dismissed, depending on how the current investigation shakes out.
Menendezâs camp said he is focused on his job.
âSenator Menendez never takes any election for granted,â his adviser Michael Soliman said in a statement. âRight now, the senator remains focused on fighting for the middle class, which has never mattered more than it does at this moment. His unwavering commitment to serving the people of New Jersey remains his top priority.â
Signorello is the second Democrat, but the first who holds an elected office, to file paperwork to primary Menendez. In November, drug and alcohol counselor Christina A. Khalil, a political neophyte, filed with the FEC to seek the Democratic Senate nomination.
In 2src17, Menendezâs popularity took a hit after he survived a lengthy federal corruption trial that resulted in a deadlocked jury largely in favor of acquitting him. The following year, Lisa McCormick, a Democrat with few resources and little name recognition, managed to get almost 38 percent of the vote against him in what was largely interpreted as a protest vote. Nonetheless, Menendez managed to comfortably win the general election against Republican Bob Hugin by about 11 points in a Democratic wave election.
Itâs unclear whether the news about the current investigation involving the senator, first reported in October, will affect the race. The investigation reportedly involves how a New Jersey company got an exclusive contract to export Halal meat to Egypt, but details have been scarce and little has been reported on the investigationâs process since then.
Should the investigation take a serious turn, some in New Jersey political circles speculate that higher-profile Democrats will seek his seat. That would likely include many of the Democratic names that have surfaced as potential gubernatorial candidates in 2src25.
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By Matt Friedman
Politico