WASHINGTON -- Ramapo College finance professor Murray Sabrin said he would seek the Libertarian Party nomination for U.S. Senate, becoming the first announced challenger to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.

The party's convention is March 24 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

"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," Sabrin said in announcing his candidacy.

"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," Sabrin said.

He did not elaborate in his announcement.

Sabrin, 71, is no stranger to New Jersey campaigns.

He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican three times in 2000, 2008 and 2014, failing to land his party's nomination all three times.

He was the Libertarian Party gubernatorial nominee in 1997, when he became the first third-party candidate who raised enough money to qualify for matching funds and a spot in televised debates.

Menendez faces a retrial on charges that he intervened with federal agencies on behalf of a friend and campaign donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, a West Palm Beach, Fla., ophthalmologist.

The first trial ended in a hung jury. A juror said the vote was 10-2 for acquittal.

The judge in the case, William Walls, on Wednesday threw out several charges in the indictment, though declined to dismiss the entire case.

Menendez entered October with $3.9 million in the bank, down from $6.9 million during the same period six years earlier. He is rated as a strong favorite for re-election by both the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, two Washington-based publications that track congressional races.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.