Menendez had been using his official position to help Melgen get visas for his foreign-born girlfriends, and Melgen, in return, was giving Menendez flights on his private jet, rounds of golf at exclusive clubs, and nights in Paris.Īll of it is ugly, and it's the reason why a first-time candidate like Hugin has been able to make this race close. The senator got off easy while his friend, wealthy Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, is currently serving a 17-year sentence. Menendez leads Hugin by seven points51 to 44 percentin the heated New Jersey Senate race. Menendez was indicted, tried, and got off due to a hung jury after the Obama Department of Justice charged him with bribery, fraud, and making false statements to federal agents. The new Hugin ad arises as a Quinnipiac poll found that Sen. Hugin wouldn’t have a chance, of course, if Menendez had any self-control. An early September Stockton University Poll had Hugin down by just two points and the latest Quinnipiac poll has Hugin down by seven points. But the survey at least tracks in the same neighborhood as earlier surveys. Granted, internal polls tend to paint a rosier picture of reality than independent ones. A two point deficit could stand between Republicans and another seat in the Senate. Those are encouraging numbers coming out of state that hasn’t elected a Republican senator since the early days of the Reagan administration. That result comes after a telephone survey of 600 likely voters - a pool of 31 percent Republicans, 45 percent Democrats, and 24 percent unaffiliated voters. “With just over three weeks until Election Day, our latest internal campaign survey continues to show Bob Hugin and Bob Menendez in a statistical dead heat,” reports a polling memo prepared by National Research Inc., “with Hugin at 40% and Menendez at 42%.” Internal polling shared with the Washington Examiner shows the New Jersey Republican nipping at the heels of the ethically challenged incumbent, Sen. Menendez has steadfastly denied the charge.Bob Hugin must feel bullish in the final stretch. "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. 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. 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. That fact was repeated several times during an event at a local Republican Party office here Thursday night. No Republican has won election to the U.S.
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