Facing Indictment, Sen. Menendez Will Not Run for Reelection as a Democrat – But Could Make Independent Bid
Bob Menendez/YouTube
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has declined to seek reelection as a Democrat.
Menendez made the announcement in a YouTube video that was posted on X/Twitter on Thursday and is leaving open the possibility of running as an independent.
The New Jersey senator and his wife Nadine Menendez are facing an 18-count indictment in federal court over allegations he acted as a foreign agent and accepted bribes to advance the interests of Egypt while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
“Unfortunately the present accusations I am facing, of which I am innocent and will prove so, will not allow me to have that type of dialogue and debate with political opponents that have already made it the cornerstone of their campaign,” he said in the video. “New Jerseyans deserve better than that.”
Menendez has faced growing calls to resign or at least not seek reelection. The filing deadline to run in New Jersey is Monday, March 25 and the Senate primary will be held on June 4 when Menendez would almost certainly go down in defeat.
The senator’s decision may very well be driven by a financial calculation rather than a political one. As NBC News congressional correspondent Julie Tsirkin reported last week:
One thing that’s interesting here, just to point out here, one of the reasons potentially that Menendez could be doing this. Why would he be trying to stay on the ballot in a race that Democrats have called him to leave? That Democrats here in Congress have effectively told him to resign and retire from? Well, it’s because those legal bills, they are costly. And certainly one of the ways that he can fundraise more is if he stays as a candidate on the ballot. He has name recognition that way, he can still fundraise some funds from allies. We’ve seen this happen in the case of former President Trump, who has spent near or more than $27 million of campaign funds on legal bills. So certainly this is something notable.
