Menendez withdraws independent Senate bid

Embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) officially withdrew his independent bid to try to hold on to his Senate seat Friday, as he prepares to resign from office following his criminal conviction last month.

In a letter to the head of the New Jersey Division of Elections, Menendez requested his name be removed from November’s ballot. He had launched a long-shot independent campaign for Senate after deciding against pursuing the Democratic nomination for his seat amid the legal proceedings against him.

His departure from the race will leave the general election as a contest between Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw, along with other minor candidates. 

Menendez had been gearing up for a run for another six-year term in the Senate when he was charged last fall in a wide-ranging corruption case alleging he accepted bribes in exchange for favors to three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt and Qatar. He denied the charges and rejected widespread calls from members of his own party to resign. 

He passed on running for the Democratic nomination for another term, but ultimately decided to try running as an independent, despite his poor approval rating following his indictment. 

Menendez was found guilty on all 16 charges, including bribery and acting as a foreign agent, last month and vowed to appeal. He soon after announced he would resign from his Senate seat effective Aug. 20, this coming Tuesday, but did not end his Senate candidacy at the time. 

Friday was the last day to drop out before his name could not be removed from the ballot. The Hill has reached out to Menendez’s campaign for comment.

Kim is the favorite to win the seat in November in the solidly Democratic-leaning state, but Bashaw is seeking to pull off an upset. 

With Menendez in the race, Kim was still the front-runner to win the election, but some signs existed that the incumbent could at least make the race closer. A couple of polls, including from Republican-sponsored surveys, showed Menendez receiving single-digit support, and Kim only with a single-digit lead. 

The forecast from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ still rated the election as “likely Democratic.” 

Bashaw released a statement saying he supported Menendez dropping out and that the state deserves to be able to move on from him. 

“Bob Menendez’s corruption has been a distraction in New Jersey government and politics for years. It’s time to move on with this election and make it a clean, straight-forward race focusing on the issues facing our state,” he said. 

Katey Sabo, the communications director for the Kim campaign, slammed the Republican candidate in a statement to The Hill, saying that Bashaw supported Menendez resigning but has endorsed and campaigned with Donald Trump, who has been convicted of 34 felony counts from his hush-money trial.

“That tells you everything you need to know about Mr. Bashaw,” Sabo said.

Bashaw had previously been a critic of Trump, reportedly supporting a letter in 2020 that called him a “real threat to democracy,” but he endorsed Trump for president in April.

Menendez’s withdrawal comes on the same day that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced he would appoint his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to serve as senator in the interim following Menendez’s resignation.

— Updated at 5:10 p.m.