'Legal bills are expensive': Senate Dem indicted for bribery mulls independent reelection run

14 March 2024

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), who has been indicted by the Department of Justice for numerous alleged crimes including bribery and obstruction of justice, has so far kept quiet about his campaign plans. But a new report suggests he may yet seek another term by circumventing his own party's primary.

NBC News' Julie Tsirkin reported that Menendez is currently considering running for reelection as an independent, meaning he would be able to continue his campaign into November even though New Jersey Democrats will be running their own candidate. Tsirkin attributed her knowledge to two unnamed sources who said Menendez wasn't just running to keep his seat for another six years, but also because "his legal bills are expensive" and "Menendez can fundraise as a candidate."

Should Menendez go the independent route, it would throw the New Jersey US Senate race into chaos. While the state is normally considered a safe blue state, a three-way race between Menendez and the two major party nominees could potentially give Republicans a pickup. And should the GOP win a seat in New Jersey, Republicans would almost certainly be assured the majority, since outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-West Virginia) retirement opens the seat up in a state Republicans have easily won the past six consecutive presidential elections.

Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were first indicted in late 2023 over an alleged bribery scheme in which he is said to have used his position as then-chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to steer US foreign policy in Egypt's favor. During an FBI raid on his home last September, agents found cash and gold bars, as well as a luxury vehicle that were all alleged gifts from New Jersey businessmen with connections to the Egyptian government.

More recently, Menendez was indicted again for alleged obstruction of justice, in which the DOJ accused him of instructing his lawyers to lie to investigators concerning a Mercedes-Benz and mortgage payments. While Menendez's lawyers said they were loans and not gifts, the DOJ alleges that they were indeed gifts intended as gestures of gratitude to the senator for using his influence to help Egypt.

The Democratic primary for New Jersey's Senate seat is currently between Rep. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) and Tammy Murphy, who is first lady of the Garden State. While Kim was the first to enter the race shortly after Menendez's first indictment and has since raised millions of dollars, Murphy is also running a competitive campaign, recently winning the endorsement of the Bergen County Democratic Party, which is the party organization for the state's most populous county.

The filing deadline for the New Jersey Senate primary election is March 25, meaning Menendez will have to decide soon if he'll run on his own party's ballot line or as an independent. Primary voters will head to the polls on June 4.

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