Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) kicked off his re-election campaign on Wednesday. His campaign began at a local high school in NYC, where the senator grew up.
Menendez would have most likely glided to re-election in New Jersey, which hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 46 years. However, the senator just came out of a two-and-a-half month corruption trial. He was cleared of the charges by the Justice Department late last year, but Menendez still needs to face a Senate Ethics Committee investigation.
Menendez’ strongest challenger is former pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin (R), who could easily fund his own campaign to pose a real threat.
Menendez is currently serving his second term in the Senate and is the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.