The Democratic primary for New Jersey’s Senate race will be decided next week, where voters will nominate their candidate who will likely replace Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in Congress.
But it won’t definitively mean Menendez, currently on trial for federal charges of public corruption, bribery, and acting as a foreign agent, will be off the general election ballot come November.
The third-term embattled senator did not file for the primary but is vowing to run for reelection as an “independent” Democrat if he’s acquitted.
Still, the nomination will put Democrats one step closer to putting Menendez behind them, as most Senate Democrats have called on him to resign. He was stripped of his Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairmanship but has continued to attend classified briefings on the Hill, to the chagrin of some Democratic colleagues.
“It’ll make Menendez a dead breed, in many instances,” said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, whose clients have included former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Sheinkopf noted that the Menendez name in New Jersey politics will still persist, at least for the time being. Menendez’s son, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), is seeking to keep his House seat under the shadow of his father.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is expected to glide to victory in the June 4 primary after Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, dropped out earlier in the race. She said in March that it had become “clear to me that continuing in this race will involve waging a very divisive and negative campaign, which I am not willing to do.”
Kim is facing two Democratic opponents: progressive activist Lawrence Hamm, who unsuccessfully ran against Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in 2020, and labor leader Patricia Campos Medina, who would be the first Latina from New Jersey in Congress.
Early voting starts on Wednesday. Kim is heavily favored to win the primary and the general.
Sheinkopf hailed Kim as a “reformer” over the candidate’s lawsuit to end New Jersey’s “county line” primary ballot, a move that could have ripple effects in local elections across the Garden State. A judge ruled in Kim’s favor this spring that the controversial ballot design, which gives an advantage to party-backed candidates by strategically placing endorsed candidates together, will not be used in the June primary.
Menendez is charged with acting as a foreign agent to the governments of Egypt and Qatar, and as part of that alleged endeavor is also accused of accepting lavish bribes like gold bars and cash from two New Jersey businessmen, obstruction of justice, fraud, and extortion.
Menendez has denied any wrongdoing. His defense has consisted of blaming his wife, Nadine Menendez, who is also charged in the case, and downplaying his actions as normal constituent and political business. His trial began May 13.
The clock is ticking for him to mount his longshot independent bid with the deadline fast approaching in the middle of his trial. Menendez must gather and file 800 signatures by the June 4 primary, which he’s in the process of doing, according to the New Jersey Globe. The status of his effort and the number of signatories gathered was unclear.
Menendez entirely off the ballot this fall would bring a sigh of relief to Senate Democrats, most of whom have long been ready to ditch him politically. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is the lone leadership member to decline to call for his resignation. But Schumer has made clear his disapproval of Menendez’s conduct, initially saying he was “deeply disappointed and disturbed” by the allegations.
“We all know that for senators there is a much, much higher standard, and clearly, when you read the indictment, Sen. Menendez fell way, way below that standard,” Schumer told reporters in September.
Prompted by the Washington Examiner earlier this month whether Menendez should face expulsion from the chamber if convicted, Schumer demurred.
“He’s on trial,” he said. “So I’m not going to comment.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has been relentless in his advocacy for Menendez’s ouster, but he remains on an island of his own as the only Democrat willing to call for expulsion.
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Kim could find himself working in the Senate sooner than expected. Should Menendez, 70, resign or be evicted from the Senate by his peers, Kim could be appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy until he’s elected.
But if convicted, Menendez could theoretically continue to serve in the Senate, cast votes, and even be reelected in November.
