Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s retirement makes his 11th District of New Jersey even more vulnerable for his party.

While the congressman had some of his own baggage — an employee at a local bank landed in hot water with her employer when the congressman alerted the CEO that she was a Democratic activist — and it was unclear whether he was ready for a difficult re-election fight, his family has been a staple of New Jersey politics for generations and Frelinghuysen outperformed Donald Trump in the district in 2016.

Even if the Frelinghuysen ran for a 13th term, it was going to be a tough race for the GOP. Trump carried the district by just 1 point and the Democratic front-runner had nearly half a million dollars in cash on hand last fall.

Mikie Sherrill, a retired Navy helicopter pilot and former federal prosecutor, had $496,000 in the bank as of Sept. 30 and has the support of EMILY’s List. Frelinghuysen, who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee, had over $1 million in his campaign account at the end of the year.

Republicans have a little more than two months to find a candidate who can compete with Sherrill’s early fundraising. It’s possible that the GOP could benefit from a fresh face who doesn’t have the baggage of a long-time member of Congress. But a national wave could overwhelm an upstart contender.