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NJ’s Sen. Menendez is seeking reelection despite ‘gold bar’ trial. Could he be a spoiler for Kim?
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Jun 3, 2024
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Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Jun 3, 2024
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Sen. Bob Menendez filed paperwork Monday to run for reelection as an independent, after losing the support of the Democratic Party last fall when he was indicted on 16 counts of bribery, corruption and helping a foreign government.
Following the indictment last September, most major Democrats in New Jersey called for him to resign. Even party leaders in the senator’s home turf of Hudson County eventually endorsed Tammy Murphy’s campaign for the seat, before shifting their endorsement to Andy Kim after Murphy dropped out of the race.
Menendez is currently on trial in a Manhattan federal court, charged with bribery, corruption, obstruction of justice and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. His trial is expected to run through late June or early July, and then his wife, Nadine, will face charges in the same case in a separate trial that is expected to take another six weeks. Her trial was delayed because she needed time to deal with health issues.
Without Democratic party support, it is widely expected Menendez would not be able to win the general election. But he could be a spoiler for Democrat Andy Kim, who is the leading candidate in the primary to be held Tuesday.
"Americans are fed up with politicians putting their own personal benefit ahead of what’s right for the country,” Kim said in a written statement in response to Monday’s filing. “Everyone knows Bob Menendez isn't running for the people of New Jersey, he's doing it for himself. It’s beyond time for change and I’m stepping up to restore integrity back into the U.S. Senate.”
Fairleigh Dickinson University’s polling center asked voters in April about how they’d vote in the general election, in scenarios with and without Menendez running as an independent. In any scenario where he ran, Menendez got just 6% or 7% of the vote.
The poll found that if Mendnez stayed out of the race, Kim was ahead of either of the leading Republicans who are running in Tuesday’s primary — Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner or Cape May real estate developer Curtis Bashaw — by about 9% to 10%. But if Menendez ran as an independent, Kim’s lead shrank.
That could be troubling for Democrats, poll director Dan Cassino said, but “we found it wasn’t quite that simple.” He said Menendez would actually pull support both from likely Republican and likely Democratic voters. That’s because many voters hadn’t yet heard of some or even any of the other candidates, Cassino said.
“They're not paying attention yet. We have to imagine they've all heard of Bob Menendez and what's going on with Bob Menendez at this point,” Cassino said. “But they also don't know who the Republican candidate is and they don't know very much, necessarily, about Andy Kim. So all the candidates have to really define themselves.”
Menendez had said previously he was “hopeful” about running as an independent, but wouldn’t file to run as a Democrat in this year’s primary.
“Unfortunately, the present accusations I am facing, of which I am innocent and will prove so, will not allow me to have that type of dialogue and debate with political opponents that have already made it the cornerstone of their campaign,” Menendez said in March in a Youtube video. “I am hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election.”
The trial for Menendez and two co-defendants began May 13, and federal prosecutors are still presenting their case. An FBI agent testified that when his team searched the Menendez home in 2022 they found $486,000 in cash and 13 gold bars. The cash was stuffed in shopping bags, jacket pockets and a pair of the senator’s boots, the agent said. In his office, a gym-bag sized duffel contained another $100,000, according to the testimony.
Prosecutors allege the bribery scheme involves help that Menendez provided to Egyptian military and intelligence officials to obtain weapon sales from the U.S, as well as help Menendez gave two New Jersey businessmen to obtain a monopoly on the certification of all halal meat exported to Egypt. In exchange, prosecutors say, Menendez and his wife received cash, gold, a Mercedes Benz and other valuables.
The news of the Menendez candidacy comes just as his son, Rob, faces a tough reelection battle in Tuesday’s primary against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
“This is actually really bad timing for one person in particular, and that's Rob Menendez, who at this point I think would probably prefer if Bob Menendez, his father, was staying out of the news, at least until the primaries are over,” Cassino said.
The deadline to file a signature petition and paperwork for independents in the November general election is Tuesday at 4 pm.
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Nancy Solomon
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