Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez gets just 10% in primary matchup: poll
If the feds don’t put Sen. Bob Menendez out of office, New Jersey Democrats probably will.
A new poll released Thursday shows two-thirds of likely Garden State Democratic primary voters disapprove of the 69-year-old, who was indicted along with his wife last month on bribery charges, while just 14% say they have a favorable opinion of him.
The numbers for Menendez are even uglier when the survey, commissioned from Public Policy Polling by the liberal group End Citizens United/Let America Vote, put the incumbent up against declared and potential primary opponents.
In a head-to-head matchup, progressive Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) tops Menendez 63% to 10%, with 28% saying they aren’t sure whom they would vote for.
In a three-way primary battle among Menendez, Kim and New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, Kim receives 42% support with Murphy far back at 19% and more than a third of respondents (34%) saying they aren’t sure whom they’d support.
Menendez garnered the backing of just 5% of respondents.
“This poll makes it clear that I can win this race against Senator Menendez. We cannot jeopardize the Senate majority,” Kim posted on X, formerly Twitter, while citing the survey.
“Congressman Kim is building the strongest campaign, offering the sharpest contrast, and showing he has what it takes to win,” said ECU/LAV president Tiffany Muller in a statement. “The message from New Jersey Democrats is loud and clear: They strongly support Congressman Kim for US Senate over corrupt Senator Menendez.”
Kim announced a primary challenge to Menendez shortly after the indictment of Menendez, his wife, Nadine, and three others was unsealed Sept. 22. Murphy has not formally entered the Senate race, though she is rumored to be mulling a candidacy.
Menendez has insisted he will be vindicated when the case concludes and has refused to resign despite calls from dozens of Democrats for him to do so. However, he has not explicitly announced he will seek another Senate term.
“When I make that decision, I will announce it,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “I will announce it when it comes time.”
Menendez and his wife stand accused of accepting $486,461 worth of cash payments and $150,000 in gold bars as well as a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible to help businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
In return, the senator allegedly leveraged his political position to run interference in investigations concerning his wealthy friends, pass sensitive security information to agents of the Egyptian government, and surreptitiously lobby for the Arab state to receive US military aid. In Hana’s case, prosecutors say Menendez helped him secure a monopoly on certifying meat exports to Egypt as halal, then warned Agriculture Department officials to back off when they questioned the concession.
Menendez pleaded not guilty to all three counts at his first court appearance Sept. 27.
The New Jersey Democrat has resigned from his post as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His successor, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), recently held up $235 million in aid to Egypt.
If convicted, both Menendez and his wife could face up to 45 years behind bars. The three businessmen each face up to 25 years in prison.
To defend him, Menendez has tapped Abbe Lowell, who is also representing first son Hunter Biden and helped defend the senator in a separate corruption case in 2017, when Menendez dodged a conviction due to a hung jury.
The poll was taken Oct. 3-4 and sampled 502 likely Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
