Incumbent democratic US Senator Bob Menendez is seeking a third term in office. He’s a former mayor of Union City, turned congressman, now senator. Menendez says he’s always fought for New Jersey families.
“For Sandy victims to help them get back into their homes and businesses. For the fights I’ve led for the Autism community and the federal law I helped pass. For the efforts I’ve made on healthcare to make sure more people have healthcare coverage so our federally qualified health centers can provide high quality healthcare. And the efforts that I’ve made so students have access to affordable loans, so they don’t have to graduate under a mountain of debt," Menendez said. “I think when they look at the record they’ll understand that that is the type of things they want somebody to take on in Washington for them.”
In a state that’s been dominated by democrats in major elections in recent years, some believe Menendez is vulnerable following a federal corruption case that ended in a mistrial. Ads from republican candidate Bob Hugin are targeting the incumbent US Senator.
Bob Hugin is the former chief executive of Celgene, a pharmaceutical company that develops medicine for cancer.
“We will make the case loud and clear that New Jersey deserves better from its next senator. New Jersey deserves a senator as good as it’s people. Not one working to keep one step ahead of the law,” Hugin said during his campaign announcement.
Bob Hugin’s republican primary opponent is Brian Goldberg, a local business owner and member of the Essex County Republican Committee. Goldberg finds himself in familiar territory. He ran in the US Senate republican primary in 2014.
“Bob Hugin has had issues in his professional life which reflect on his judgement in leadership. You can look at the price gouging where he jacked the price up on his number one cancer fighting drug last year. This is not ancient history,” Goldberg said. “Running a construction company in New Jersey, I know what it’s like to suffer and struggle the way that a lot of people in New Jersey have. I can absolutely relate. At the same time, you want somebody who understands the issues and has come to principled positions through study and research. That’s the kind of person that I am.”
Democrat Lisa McCormick is running for US Senate partially because there’s a lack of options.
“We really need to be able to choose and get better candidates on the ballot,” McCormick said. “It’s not just about me. It’s about all of us. We need to get people interested and involved in politics today to get them running so we get people that represent ninety-nine percent of us.”
Lisa McCormick is a newspaper and community website news publisher. An advocate for progressive change, she says party insiders hold too much influence over who represents the people.
“I think there’s a resistance for change from the insiders. I think that they feel if one person is in danger, they are all in danger. The would rather keep the power and settle for anyone they can get elected than have the positive choices. We really need to teach them to be open minded that everyone will be better off when we have elected officials that represent the ninety-nine percent,” McCormick said.
New Jersey polls are open on June 5 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.