Menendez has steadfastly denied the charge. "For several years, Senator Menendez had been traveling to the Dominican Republic to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes - some of whom were minors, even as young as 16," says a narrator in one of Hugin's television advertisements, quoting, in part, from an unsubstantiated FBI affidavit that originated from an anonymous tip. Chris Christie's infamous town halls, which often devolved into shouting matches, for paving the way for Trump.Īnd when Hugin and his campaign address the Menendez scandals, it's impossible not to see the effect Trump has had on political discourse. ![]() Many political observers credit former New Jersey Gov. If suburbanites have second thoughts in the ballot box. Though New Jersey largely turned away from President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, preferring Hillary Clinton by more than 14 points - not a surprise after sending its electors to Democrats in the six preceding presidential contests - there's a underlying kinship in Trump's penchant for bluntness and the Garden Staters' affinity for speaking what's on their minds. 10/26/18 - Undecideds are going Bob Hugins way, but Robert Menendez is still up at 50 percent. I know who you are and I won't forget you. "Listen, the guy violated federal law, abused the power of his office, disgraced the Senate." "The current senator has failed and embarrassed us," Hugin told ABC News, after delivering a get-out-the-vote message to the partisan crowd. The story of the 2018 New Jersey Senate race is a story about Menendez's alleged misdeeds and the shadow they've cast over his re-electability, but the man who stands to benefit - and, given the narrowing of some polls in recent months, already has - is pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin, the Republican candidate who has parlayed a moderate platform and unforgiving attacks on his opponent's ethics into one of the most surprisingly competitive campaigns in the country. But no Republican previously had the opportunity to run against Bob Menendez less than a year after he faced federal bribery charges either. All of you have written, whether I’m up by 5 or 12, or today I think there was a poll that had us up by 15, that the race is close. That’s Menendez’s highest margin in awhile. That fact was repeated several times during an event at a local Republican Party office here Thursday night. A Quinnipiac Poll released Monday had Menendez up by 15 points 55 percent to 40 for Hugin. No Republican has won election to the U.S. Forty-two percent of independent likely voters said they haven't decided on a candidate yet.JACKSON, N.J. In the Fairleigh Dickinson poll, 22 percent of those voters were Democrats, compared with 6 percent of Republicans. ![]() The methodology of the Stockton poll was criticized, but some of its results share similarities with Fairleigh Dickinson's.īesides the close overall contest, both polls released Wednesday found that nearly a fifth of likely voters were undecided or said they could change their minds by Election Day. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. ![]() The Fairleigh Dickinson and Quinnipiac polls were released two days after a Stockton University poll showed a "statistical dead heat" between the candidates. The Democrat has also challenged Hugin's claims of being a moderate by pointing to his support for Trump, which included campaign contributions and serving as a Trump delegate at the Republican National Convention in 2016. Menendez has hit back with ads of his own, attacking Hugin for profiting from price increases on drugs vital to cancer patients while at Celgene. Hugin, a former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Celgene who has poured many millions of his own fortune into the race, has tried to capitalize with campaign ads targeting Menendez's ethics and offering himself as a moderate alternative who supports abortion rights, same-sex marriage and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In addition, a majority of likely voters - 59 percent, according to Quinnipiac - think Menendez is not honest, compared with a quarter who think he is.įederal prosecutors later dropped the charges against Menendez, but he was then "severely admonished" by the Senate Ethics Committee and ordered to repay gifts he had accepted. New Jersey voters haven't sent a Republican senator to Washington in four decades.īut Menendez, who is seeking a third full term, is being dragged down by favorability ratings in the 30s - compared with about half of voters who view him unfavorably - after his corruption trial last year that ended in a hung jury. Menendez's re-election is considered crucial to any chance, however small, of Democrats' reclaiming control of the Senate. Vannozzi: Last week we covered a campaign event with your opponent Bob Hugin.He stood at the shuttered former military base Fort Monmouth. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Senate, with 51 seats to Democrats' 49.
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