Sen. Bob Menendez formally files to run as independent candidate in New Jersey Senate race

ByEyewitness News

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Bob Menendez formally files to run as independent in NJ Senate race

Eyewitness News has more on Menendez's announcement.

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Sen. Bob Menendez has formally filed to run as an independent candidate for New Jersey's Senate race this upcoming fall.

Back in March, Menendez said he will not run for re-election as a Democrat amid he and his wife, Nadine, going on trial for corruption. The trial began in early May.

Sen. Bob Menendez submitted 2,465 signatures to the New Jersey Division of Elections on Monday.

In a statement via his campaign accounts on Facebook and X, Menendez said he submitted more than enough signatures to run and that he intends to continue doing his work as an "independent Democrat."

"Today, I submitted well above the threshold of signatures required to run for re-election. 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... 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," he said in the post.

The 70-year-old Menendez has been relying on his network of friends and businesspeople in municipalities like Union City and North Hudson to collect the signatures.

Menendez will now face both the winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary, expected to be Rep. Andy Kim, and the winner of the Republican primary.

"Americans are fed up with politicians putting their own personal benefit ahead of what's right for the country," Congressman Andy Kim said in a statement. "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."

According to recent polling, Menendez's chances for re-election appear slim, but a run would also allow him to continue to raise money as a candidate to pay his legal bills.

The filing deadline is 4 p.m. on June 4, which coincides with Primary Day.