TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — On Tuesday, the Senate career of Bob Menendez, Senator from New Jersey, came to an end. He had been active in Democratic politics for around five decades, from local school board to chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Just over a month earlier, a jury had found him guilty of federal bribery.

Menendez indicated in a letter last month to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy that his resignation would be effective at the end of the day Tuesday. Murphy said Friday that he would nominate a former top aide to succeed the three-term incumbent.

George Helmy will succeed Menendez until the results of the November Senate election are certified later this month, the governor said. At that point, Helmy will step down and he will nominate the winner of the election for the seat, Murphy said.

The stakes are high in the Senate race, with Democrats clinging to a narrow majority. Republicans have not won a Senate election in the Democratic-leaning state of New Jersey in over five decades. His resignation also comes as Democrats gather in Chicago for their national convention to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their national candidate in November.

Prosecutor: Senator Menendez and his wife charged with bribery, investigation finds gold bars worth $100,000

Democratic Representative Andy Kim and Republican hotel developer Curtis Bashaw face each other in the general election.

Helmy, 44, served as Murphy’s chief of staff from 2019 to 2023 and currently works as an executive at one of the state’s largest health care providers, RWJBarnabas Health. He previously served as state director for Sen. Cory Booker in the Senate.

Menendez, 70, was convicted of using his influence to interfere in three different state and federal investigations to protect the businessmen. Prosecutors said he helped a friend, who paid bribes, secure a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another secure a contract to religiously certify meat for Egypt.

He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes, including passing on information about U.S. Embassy personnel in Cairo and writing a letter to fellow senators calling for the cancellation of military aid to Egypt. FBI agents also said they found several gold bars and $480,000 hidden in Menendez’s home.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez found guilty in federal corruption trial; Chuck Schumer calls on him to resign

Menendez denied all allegations and told Murphy in a letter last month that he planned to appeal the verdict.

On Monday, he filed papers with the court asking for an acquittal and a retrial, arguing that prosecutors presented speculation and violated his rights to protected speech and debate as a lawmaker.

The resignation appears to mark the end of a nearly lifelong political career for Menendez, who was first elected to the local school board just a few years after graduating high school. He was also elected to the state legislature and Congress before moving to the Senate.

Menendez was appointed U.S. Senator in 2006, when the seat became vacant after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was directly elected in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018. He served as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2013, but lost that post after the earlier indictment. He regained the position after federal prosecutors failed to renew charges in that case, which ended in a mistrial.

Menendez is the only U.S. senator to have been impeached twice.

In 2015, he was indicted for allowing a wealthy Florida eye doctor to buy his influence through luxury vacations and campaign contributions. After a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in 2017, federal prosecutors in New Jersey dropped the case rather than retry him.

He served in Congress as a Democrat but decided not to run in the primary this year because his court case was still pending. He had filed to run as an independent in the fall but withdrew his candidacy on Friday, according to a letter he sent to state election officials.