Sen. Bob Menendez, New Jersey's senior senator who is on trial in lower Manhattan on federal corruption charges, filed petitions to run for re-election in November as an independent.
Menendez, 70, will seek his fourth term in the U.S. Senate and is a lifelong Democrat. He will run without the nomination of his party. After he was initially indicted — alongside his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen — Menendez faced numerous calls to resign from prominent Democrats, including from Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Cory Booker and Pennsylvania's Sen. John Fetterman.
"Today, I submitted well above the threshold of signatures required to run for re-election," Menendez said in a statement posted on social media Monday. "The people of this great state deserve a leader in Washington with a proven track record of fighting tooth and nail to deliver results, and I intend to keep doing so as an independent Democrat."
Menendez did not seek his party's nomination — to be determined in Tuesday's New Jersey primary election — but never ruled out the possibility of running as an independent. His entry to the race could complicate the prospects of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Rep. Andy Kim of Burlington County. Menendez has maintained that he can count on considerable support from within the Democratic base, which could provide an opening for the Republican candidate. Curtis Bashaw, a Cape May businessman, is seeking the nomination for U.S. Senate alongside Mendham Borough MayorChristine Serrano Glassner. Bashaw has enjoyed broad support from county-level GOP organizations while Serrano Glassner has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
"It displeases me to have to go this route, thanks to overzealous persecutors, but I will do what must be done to continue to uphold my oath of office for my constituents," Menendez said.
Kim quickly criticized Menendez's decision to run as news about the move broke late Monday afternoon.
"He’s running for himself," Kim said. "People are fed up with politicians putting their own personal benefit ahead of what’s right for the country."
Third-party candidates are sometimes referred to as spoilers, and that’s what Menendez can be if he stays in the race in November, Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics previously said when news of Menendez running as an Independent first broke in March.
“If you take even 5% of the vote, that can potentially upend the race,” Rasmussen said.
A New Jersey U.S. Senate seat hasn’t been in reach for a Republican since 1972, which makes it “irresistible,” he said.
“It’s more possible that they can be contenders for that race,” Rasmussen said. “It’s tantalizing to maybe Donald Trump or other national Republicans who want to put that seat into play.”
Menendez will have until August to remove his name from the ballot.
Another benefit to being a candidate is that Menendez will still be able to use donations toward his defense fund.
The senator raised an additional $195,000 from executives, real estate developers and othersfor his legal defense fund, bringing the total to $469,500 that he can use to pay legal expenses as of January.
Menendez’slegal expense fund was first set up in early 2014when he was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for promoting the interests of his longtime friend Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist. A trial on the corruption charges ended in a mistrial. The judge acquitted Menendez and Melgen of some of the charges, and prosecutors dropped the remainder of the charges a week later.
Rasmussen, however, said running a campaign to raise money is "hard to swallow" at this point. While Menendez has had core supporters who never stopped contributing, running as an independent may change that.
"He will almost certainly be in the single digits," Rasmussen said about Menendez's percentage chance of winning. "As a contributor, you really have to ask yourself the justification for contributing at that point when there's no possibility of him winning. That's a tough sell, because they want him to be in office and that's not really a viable argument anymore."
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Federal trial drags on
Meanwhile Monday, Menenedez's federal trial began its fourth week.
Among the charges brought by the Southern District of New York against Menendez are bribery and extortion to benefit Egypt and Qatar.
Menendez has been charged —in four successive indictments— alongside his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen — including one whohas already pleaded guilty.
"Despite what is portrayed in the press, my innocence continues to be laid out in court," Menendez said in his statement. "As I have said before, I have committed no crime. I am more confident than ever that New Jerseyans and the rest of the American public will see me exonerated of what I am being accused of, and I will be re-elected to the Senate once again."
