Current:Home > FinanceSen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to seek independent reelection bid amid federal corruption trial -FundSphere
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to seek independent reelection bid amid federal corruption trial
View
Date:2025-04-17 23:14:12
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who is on trial on federal bribery charges in New York, has filed to run as an independent candidate for reelection.
Menendez, 70, had said this year that he would not seek the Democratic nomination to pursue a fourth term, and on Monday filed paperwork with the state to launch an independent bid on the ballot. He had previously said an independent run for office was possible.
Asked on his way into court Monday if he’s changing political parties, Menendez said in Spanish, “no, independent doesn’t mean I’m changing.”
Menendez listed his party in documents filed with the state as “Menendez for Senate.”
The political stakes are high, given the Democrats’ narrow control in the Senate, where New Jersey is normally safely in Democratic hands. It’s unclear how much support Menendez could siphon from U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is in a favorable position to win the Democratic primary, which ends Tuesday. The GOP hasn’t won a U.S. Senate election in the state since 1972.
Kim, a three-term congressman from the 3rd District, said Menendez was running for himself, not the public.
“Americans are fed up with politicians putting their own personal benefit ahead of what’s right for the country,” Kim said.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election.
Menendez, his wife, Nadine, and three business associates were charged last year by federal prosecutors in New York with running a scheme in which Menendez promised to use his office to help the businessmen in return for gold bars, cash, a mortgage payment on his wife’s house and a luxury car. The Menedezes and two of the business associates have pleaded not guilty. A third pleaded guilty and agreed to testify.
In court, prosecutors have argued that Menendez sought to sell his office to enrich himself, helping business associate Wael Hana get a lucrative monopoly on certifying meat exports to Egypt as meeting Islamic guidelines, and assisting Fred Daibes with investments linked to a member of the Qatari royal family.
Menendez has denied there was any corrupt scheme. His attorneys said his conduct constituted carrying out diplomacy and working on behalf of constituents. The gold bars belonged to his wife, and the cash laying around his house was a longtime habit stemming from his parents’ escape from Communist Cuba, according to his attorney.
Daibes and Hana are on trial alongside Menendez. Nadine Menendez is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, the senator has said, and is expected to go on trial later this summer.
Menendez has held elected office for most of his life, getting on the Union City, New Jersey, school board just two years out of high school. Since then, he has been elected to office in the Legislature, as a U.S. representative and in 2006 as a U.S. senator.
He survived politically after another federal trial — that time in New Jersey on charges that he used his office to help a friend defraud Medicare — in 2017. It ended in a deadlocked jury, and prosecutors declined to hold another trial. In 2018, with the backing of the state’s Democratic establishment, Menendez won reelection.
But his political fortunes turned after the September 2023 indictment when allies across the state, including Gov. Phil Murphy, and in the Senate called for his resignation.
Menendez vowed to beat the charges against him, and like last time, promised to stick around. But Menendez didn’t appear on ballots for Tuesday’s primary. By filing as an independent, he’s aiming for November instead.
Two Republican candidates, Curtis Bashaw and Christine Serrano Glassner, have garnered the most attention. Bashaw, a southern New Jersey hotel developer, has won significant county party support, while Serrano Glassner has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
___
Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
veryGood! (85747)
Related
- Plunge Into These Olympic Artistic Swimmers’ Hair and Makeup Secrets
- Wendy Williams’ Family Speaks Out Amid Her Health and Addiction Struggles
- Rare incident: Colorado man dies after pet Gila monster bites him
- Businessman Eric Hovde enters Wisconsin U.S. Senate race to unseat Democrat Tammy Baldwin
- British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
- Amazon to be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to claim top spot on Billboard’s country music chart
- Look Back on the Way Barbra Streisand Was—And How Far She's Come Over the Years
- IOC's decision to separate speed climbing from other disciplines paying off
- It's not just rising sea levels – the land major cities are built on is actually sinking, NASA images show
Ranking
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- New Hampshire rejects pardon hearing request in case linked to death penalty repeal
- Former NFL player Marshawn Lynch resolves Vegas DUI case without a trial or conviction
- Missing skier found dead in out-of-bounds area at Stowe Mountain Resort
- Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
- Solange toys with the idea of a tuba album: 'I can only imagine the eye rolls'
- Married at First Sight's Jamie Otis Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 3 With Doug Hehner
- Why Capital One wants Discover
Recommendation
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Whoopi Goldberg Fiercely Defends Malia Obama's Stage Name
Greta Gerwig says 'Barbie' movie success 'was not guaranteed'
West Virginia House OKs bill to allow teachers with training to carry guns, other weapons in schools
Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
Foreigner founder Mick Jones reveals Parkinson's diagnosis amid farewell tour absences
Ricky Gervais Mourns Death of Office Costar Ewen MacIntosh
Jury starts deliberating in trial of New Hampshire man accused of killing daughter, 5