WASHINGTON — Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has collected the signatures needed to run for re-election to the Senate as an independent, five people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Menéndez needs 800 signatures by June 4 to gain access to the ballot box in November and hopes to reach close to 10,000 signatures by then, according to three sources with knowledge of his plans.
One of the sources, who previously worked for Menendez, said the senator, who is currently on trial on federal bribery charges, wants the number of signatures to be a “statement” in and of itself, “to show the level of support he has. still has.”
Menéndez’s office did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
If successful, Menendez would likely face New Jersey Democratic Rep. Andy Kim — who is considered the front-runner in the race to replace him — and a Republican. The primaries, in which Kim will face Patricia Campos-Medina and several Republicans will face each other for their party’s nomination, will be on June 4.
Anthony DeAngelo, a senior adviser to Kim, told NBC News in a statement: “People are fed up with a broken political system that only benefits the wealthy and well-connected and fuels corruption. Voters deserve better and will have the opportunity to vote for change next week and in November.”
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged with 18 counts of bribery and corruption. The former chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been accused by prosecutors of acting as a foreign agent and has resigned from leading the panel while the trial against him continues.
His federal criminal trial has just entered its third week and is expected to last at least until July. There is no law that prohibits Menendez from running for federal office even if he is convicted, but he has said his independent candidacy depends on his exoneration.
NBC News previously reported that Menendez was considering running for a Senate seat as an independent and that this would allow him to continue raising funds to cover his legal bills, which have already been it cost him $2 million.
Two people close to the senator say Menendez has “unfinished business” in Washington, D.C., and does not want his legacy to end with a criminal trial. “He’s not going down without a fight,” said one.
Menendez can run as an independent at any time, but will likely wait until June 4 to submit his signatures because his son, Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., D-N.J., is running for re-election in a competitive primary that will take place on the same day, two sources with direct knowledge said.
The senior Menendez’s controversial candidacy could interfere with his son and Menendez Jr.’s re-election efforts. target of attack ads related to his father’s case. That’s one of the reasons Menendez decided to run as an independent — so he and his son wouldn’t have to share the same ticket, said a person with direct knowledge of his thinking.
Another reason Menéndez wants to collect more signatures than necessary is because he expects some of the signatures to be challenged. Under New Jersey state law, any voter can sign an independent election petition as long as they have not already signed a petition for one of the two major parties.
Despite his legal troubles, Menendez still has the support of Democrats in the northern and central parts of the state and many Latino voters in New Jersey, according to Agustin Garcia, a longtime friend of Menendez who is helping him collect signatures.
“Everybody wants [the Latino] vote, and Bob has been a vanguard in defending his rights,” Garcia said. “Maybe that’s what Latinos need — they need independent voices.”
Garcia, who grew up with Menendez in Union City, New Jersey, and now lives in Miami, told NBC News that he personally organized about 20 people in the state to collect signatures for the senator’s independent candidacy, including six from his Lambda Theta Phi fraternity. . brothers. He said he believes Menéndez will be exonerated.
Some Democrats in Hudson, Essex and Passaic counties have also been helping Menendez behind the scenes in his re-election campaign, according to Garcia, who said he has spoken personally with Democratic officials in the area. A former Menendez aide also told NBC News that Democrats across the state have been quietly helping Menendez win back his seat.
Menéndez’s allies noted that while Kim is the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate, some party bosses have not yet backed the three-term congressman. Kim successfully challenged the state’s unusual voting design, which groups all party-backed nominees together with other candidates, dealing a blow to the state’s political machine earlier this year.
Joseph Barreto, founder of the New Jersey SOMOS Political Action Committee, which aims to increase Latino representation in the state and supports Campos-Medina in the primary, said many Democrats in the state still have strong ties to Menendez.
“Menéndez can still wield that power, that he still has people indebted to him, you know, different things, favors. It’s been around so long that God knows who got placed where, who got a job, or things like that, and that’s where all of that comes into play.” he said.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
