Today, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, released the following statement in response to Sen. Bob Menendez opening the door to an independent bid to hold on to his seat.

“I welcome ‘Gold Bar Bob’s’ announcement about the Senate race in New Jersey. As I’ve said from the beginning, Menendez should have to face the voters and the people of New Jersey should have the opportunity to repudiate him – and the corruption and cronyism of the Democratic Party as a whole – at the ballot box.

“As the only America First candidate running for the Senate, I’m the best person to take advantage of this opportunity. We can’t afford to go into the General Election with a never-Trump candidate representing the GOP on the same ballot as President Trump.”