When the federal corruption trial surrounding Democratic Senator Bob Menendez ended in a hung jury, he sent a shot out against those seeking his seat.
“To those who were digging my political grave so they can jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget you,” he said during a press briefing after the trial.
Republican Bob Hugin has spent close to 30 million dollars to remind voters that Menendez was on trial. Still the democrat says that a jury of his peers didn’t find him guilty.
“Twelve New Jerseyans who saw through the governments false claims and used their Jersey common sense to reject it,” Menendez said.
This year’s midterm elections are widely regarded as a referendum on President Trump. Menendez sees that as an advantage against his Republican opponent. He accuses Hugin, the former chief executive of the pharmaceutical company Celgene, of price gouging cancer patients for medication. Hugin denies those claims.
“Nearly ninety percent of all Celgene patients never paid more than fifty dollars for a prescription. When I go to Washington I hope someday I can say ninety percent of all Americans are only paying fifty dollars per prescription,” Hugin said.
While a majority of the spotlight in the New Jersey US Senate race has been on the major party candidates, perhaps New Jersey’s third-party members will have an effect on the outcome. They include Tricia Flanagan with New Day New Jersey, Natalie Lynn Rivera with For the People, Green Party candidate Madelyn Hoffman, Kevin Kimple with Make it Simple, Hank Schroeder with Economic Growth, and Murray Sabrin with the Libertarian Party.