LINCROFT - Supported by a crowd of 250 people in the Lincroft Inn, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-13) this morning formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

An animated Kyrillos repeatedly reminded his audience that his target is incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

“America faces tough and uncertain times. Our families face challenging times. Our spirit -- America's spirit -- is being tested," said the veteran 51-year old state senator from Middletown, standing with his wife Susan and their children, Max and Georgia. "Over 20 million of our fellow Americans are out of work or underemployed today -- and many millions more are discouraged, feeling left behind.

“Our ballooning debt isn't just some giant number on a spreadsheet,” Kyrillos added.  “It's a crisis that today undermines the strength of our country and tomorrow will bankrupt our children. Yet the guys who got us into this mess, our President and Bob Menendez, are running for re-election.  They made things worse, and they’re promising more of the same. They offer us nothing new or different — just more of the same: More spending, more debt, more job-killing regulation.”

Kyrillos's wife also made remarks in introducing the senator.

“Let me be clear – Joe and I know this election is not about us – it is bigger than all of us," Susan Kyrillos said. “Joe is running because he is worried about the direction America is headed in today. I think we all are – regardless of our roles as moms or dads, grandparents or aunts and uncles – we all feel the same uneasiness about the future and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.  We wonder if anyone in Washington is listening to us and thinking about the future.”

A key ally of Gov. Chris Christie's, Kyrillos said the GOP proved in New Jersey that conservative leadership works.

"We are making tough choices — the same tough choices that need to be made in Washington: We cut spending, we stopped borrowing and we didn’t raise taxes. And ... we told small and big employers, ‘New Jersey is open for business again,'” said Kyrillos, senior managing director of Colliers International, the commercial real estate services firm with offices in New York and Parsippany.

“I want to be clear about the values I'll bring to the Senate and the principles I'll represent," he added. "Every decision I make will be guided by a simple principle:  Will it restore and strengthen America as the land of opportunity and freedom?  A country where hard work is rewarded, free enterprise is encouraged, and the potential of every individual is given chance to flourish. I will be a champion for small business and fiscal discipline. I will push for a balanced budget amendment so that Washington is forced to balance its budgets every year just as we do in New Jersey and as you do at home. I will vote to repeal Obamacare, which is hurting job creators and will undermine access to quality healthcare. And I will work to overhaul and simplify the tax code by ending special-interest tax breaks and cutting taxes on job creators and middle-income families.”

Menendez spokesman Brad Lawrence responded to the Kyrillos kickoff in an emailed statement.

"Senator Menendez is proud to run on his record of working to restore financial security for New Jersey’s middle-class families, helping protect and create thousands of New Jersey jobs and taking on powerful special interests like credit card companies who rip off consumers and ending tax loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas," Lawrence said.

"If twenty-year Trenton Insider and former State Republican Party Chair Joe Kyrillos should win the Republican Primary, the contrast is stark. Senator Kyrillos voted against making taxes fairer for the middle class and supported unfair tax cuts for millionaires. Senator Kyrillos has cozied up to the extremists who oppose investing in stem cell research, would deny a woman’s right to choose and resist common sense gun safety laws.”