Ramapo College Finance Professor Murray Sabrin plans to run for the U.S. Senate as a libertarian, InsiderNJ has learned.

A native of Germany and resident of Fort Lee, Sabrin has run statewide before, including in 2008, when he unsuccessfully pursued the Republican nomination for Senate. Coming in a distant third place, he received 14% of the vote (or 25.5K votes) in that election, a loss to former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, who beat second place finisher state Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) by five percentage points and went on to loss the general election to the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). 

Sabrin also challenged for the GOP nomination to run for U.S. Senate against Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in 2014. That time he lost the nod to Jeff Bell, placing fourth in a field of four, and earning 19% of the total votes to Bell’s 29%. Bell would go on that year to lose a lopsided decision in the general to Booker.

The senate aspirant’s first statewide candidacy was as a Libertarian Party member running for governor in 1997.

More details about Sabrin’s candidacy are expected later.

7 p.m. Update: Sabrin’s full statement reprinted below:

Nearly three weeks I received an email from the leadership of the New Jersey Libertarian Party inquiring if I would consider seeking the Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate this year.  

After weighing the pros and cons of becoming a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018 with my wife and many close friends and colleagues, I decided on Tuesday to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination at the March 24^th convention, which will be held at Rutgers University.

If I am successful at the convention, we will have the most out-of-the-box U.S. Senate campaign in the history of New Jersey and possibly U.S. history.  I have “tested” my strategy with many people across the political spectrum and they were, to a person, enthusiastically supportive, which included a “signature” proposal that would resonate, again, with individuals no matter their party affiliation.  

In addition, at the convention I will outline our path to victory in November against the ethically challenged, pro war, pro big government, incumbent.  We will take our message of Peace, Liberty and Prosperity to all New Jersey’s 21 counties. 

For nearly five decades I have been advocating these principles in letters to the editor, op-eds, essays, lectures, and as a guest on radio and cable talk shows and in several political campaigns.

By becoming the NJLP nominee for the U.S. Senate this year, I will get the opportunity to take these principles to the people of New Jersey in the fall campaign, so they can elect at last a common sense individual who will not pay lip service to our State Motto, Liberty and Prosperity, but will work tirelessly to become the most effective U.S. Senator for our core principles.

Consider joining the New Jersey Libertarian Party so you can help me become the LP candidate at the convention.  Consider changing your voter registration to Libertarian if you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent.  And if you will be registering for the first time, you can join a political party that supports civil liberties, a peaceful foreign policy and opposes crony capitalism. 

If you don’t join the NJLP, you could still attend the convention as a nonvoting attendee.  

Hope to see at the NJLP convention on March 24^th.