WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., filed Monday to run for re-election as an independent, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his plans.
NBC News had reported that Menendez had gathered enough signatures to run as an independent for another term in the Senate as he faces a trial on federal bribery charges. He filed one day before the state's deadline for independent candidates, allowing him to collect fewer signatures and still make the ballot; the deadline to run as a Democrat has long passed.
The New Jersey Globe first reported that Menendez planned to file Monday. In the end, he filed just over 2,000 signatures, a source told NBC News.
Menendez's decision also allows him to continue to raise and spend campaign funds on legal fees in the ongoing corruption trial. He pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.
Rep. Andy Kim is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the primary Tuesday. Kim has warned that Menendez’s running as an independent could put the deep-blue state in play in November.
Kim filed to run for the seat in March with roughly 6,000 signatures. He posted Monday on X that Menendez "isn’t running for NJ families. He’s running for himself. People are fed up with politicians putting their own personal benefit ahead of what’s right for the country."
Also Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez, the senator's son, faces a competitive race in the 8th District against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
A pro-Bhalla outside group called America’s Promise PAC has launched a TV ad tying Rob Menendez to his father’s trial, with a narrator saying: “They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So it’s no wonder that Rob Menendez is defending his father’s corruption.” It adds later that Rob Menendez is “rotten to the core.” (He has not been accused of any impropriety.)
