WASHINGTON — Voters in New Jersey on Tuesday will choose candidates vying to replace Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who is on trial in federal court in New York on corruption charges and has opted not to run in the state's Democratic primary.
Menendez, who has held the seat for more than 18 years, filed to run as an independent candidate on Monday, the day before the primary. He had previously said he would consider running as an independent if he is acquitted.
Presidential primaries will also be on the ballot, along with primary elections for U.S. House.
While Menendez's reentry into the race could complicate Democratic efforts to retain the Senate seat, his decision not to run in the party primary has already had cascading effects in the state. The early jockeying between first lady Tammy Murphy, who has since suspended her campaign, and front-runner Rep. Andy Kim led to a ruling that eliminated the party line for at least the primary. The party line is a ballot design specific to New Jersey that displays candidates endorsed by county parties in one column, which opponents argue creates an advantage for party-backed candidates.
With the party line gone, Kim has appeared to consolidate Democratic support statewide. He faces labor leader Patricia Campos-Medina and activist Lawrence Hamm in the primary.
On the Republican side, the Senate primary is among four candidates: hotelier and leading Republican fundraiser Curtis Bashaw, Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy and Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner. Serrano Glassner has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
In running for the Senate, Kim is vacating the 3rd Congressional District seat he's held since 2019. The race to replace him has drawn five Democratic candidates. Kim ousted the Republican incumbent in that district in 2018 in one of the midterms' closest races, but the district has since been redrawn post-census to be more favorable for Democrats, so the candidate who emerges from the primary is likely to be favored in the fall.
The other U.S. House race to watch is in the 8th District, where first-term Rep. Rob Menendez, son of the current senator, faces a tough challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. Bhalla has nearly matched Menendez in fundraising, with $1.625 million to the incumbent's $1.642 million, in the New York City suburban district.