Christine Serrano Glassner, the two-term mayor of Mendham (population 6,014) has entered the race to challenge Senator Bob Menendez, the incumbent senator embroiled in corruption scandals who is facing reelection in 2024.
Glassner, a businesswoman and mother of two, didn’t mince words when addressing her reasons for entering the race. She squarely took aim at Menendez, who currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been embroiled in a federal corruption probe.
“New Jersey deserves better than this dark cloud of corruption that has been following Bob Menendez for a decade,” declared Serrano Glassner during her announcement. “Bob Menendez has failed New Jersey because he’s more interested in enriching himself and his cronies than in delivering for hardworking New Jersey families. That’s why it’s high time for ‘Funny Money’ Menendez to be put into permanent retirement.”
At 60 years old, Glassner brings a wealth of experience to the race. She served in President George W. Bush’s administration as a Regional Advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration and held a top executive position at the Empire State Development Corporation for eight years during George Pataki’s tenure as New York’s governor.
“We need a fighter—someone who believes hardworking Americans matter and who will stop Joe Biden’s failed economic policies,” she asserted. “Someone who believes parents’ rights matter and who will keep woke ideology out of our schools. And we need someone who will stand up to Washington, D.C., and do what’s right for New Jersey.”
Glassner has positioned herself as a conservative Republican and touted her successful track record at the local level. She was first elected to the Mendham Borough Council in 2016, and in 2018, she ran for mayor, winning the GOP mayoral primary with 57.5% of the vote and securing a decisive victory in the general election against Democrat Mark Washburne, a community college professor and former congressional candidate.
In the most recent mayoral race, Serrano Glassner secured a re-election victory with 61% of the vote against Democrat Melissa Rawley-Payne.
Adding a unique dimension to her candidacy is her husband, Michael Glassner, a seasoned political strategist with a career spanning back to the 1980s. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign and played key roles in Trump’s 2016 campaign. His experience and connections in national politics are expected to be an asset to his wife’s campaign.
Before Glassner’s announcement, a Monmouth University poll revealed that Menendez’s approval ratings stood at 36%, with 45% disapproval. The ongoing federal investigation into Menendez, led by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, reportedly centers around potential undisclosed gifts to the senator and his wife.