Mendham Mayor Confirms Run For U.S. Senate Seat

MENDHAM, NJ — Christine Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham Borough, declared her candidacy for the Republican Senate nomination in the 2024 election on Monday.

Serrano Glassner hopes to challenge 18-year incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez, who is the subject of his third FBI investigation since joining the Senate in 2006.

"New Jersey deserves better than this dark cloud of corruption that has been following Bob Menendez for a decade," Serrano Glassner said. "As a fighter for New Jersey residents and businesses throughout my career in federal and state government, and based on my experience as a mom and a mayor, I am ready to go to work."

According to a 2022 Semafor report, Menendez is under a federal investigation in the Southern District of New York, though details of the investigation remain scant. Menendez was previously indicted in 2015 on federal corruption charges, though the probe resulted in a mistrial two years later.

"We need a leader to fight for the hardworking men and women of New Jersey—and for America. I am that leader, and I will defeat Bob Menendez and end his career of cronyism," Serrano Glassner said.

Serrano Glassner was elected to a four-year term as Mayor of the Borough of Mendham in 2018, becoming the first woman to do so. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2022 with 61 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Melissa Rawley-Payne.

Before her tenure as mayor, Serrano Glassner served on the Finance Committee, the Public Safety Committee, and the Mendham Borough Town Council. In 2017, she established the first Mayor's Ad Hoc Local Economic Development Committee, which has worked closely with the Mendham Business Association to promote local small companies.

Serrano Glassner is also a principal and co-founder of the public affairs business C&M Transcontinental. Michael Glassner, her husband, is the firm's president. From July 2015 to November 2020, Michael Glassner served as Trump's chief operating officer and deputy campaign manager.

In her campaign statement, Serrano Glassner vows that she will "fight" against President Joe Biden's "failed economic policies" and keep "woke ideology" out of New Jersey's schools.

New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 1979, when Clifford Case, who was seeking his fifth term, lost at the polls. Despite its predisposition for Democratic senators, New Jersey has had a Republican governor for more than half of the time since 1972.

"We need a fighter—someone who believes hardworking Americans matter. And we need someone who will stand up to Washington, D.C., and do what’s right for New Jersey," Serrano Glassner said. "Bob Menendez has failed New Jersey – because he’s more interested in enriching himself and his cronies than he is in delivering for hardworking New Jersey families. That’s why it’s high time for ‘Funny Money’ Menendez to be put into permanent retirement."

Serrano Glassner did not reply to Patch's request about her campaign announcement and how it may affect her duties as mayor of Mendham Borough.