Menendez +2 (NJ, Gravis)

[Maxwell]

Menendez is going to win by 6-7 in the end just like every other bad New Jersey Democrat. Heck, even CORZINE would've won re-election in a non-Republican year.

but the Democrats are so thoroughly rotten to the core that they continue to prop up Menendez but are running scared because of Ocasio Cortez or whatever.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

What is peoples problem with Menendez anyways? His speech against PROMESA in 2016 was one of the best done political speeches ever, easily the best of 2016.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He has ethical issues

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

He has ethical issues

Congratulations on your nomination for the "Understatement of the year" award!

[BudgieForce]

He has ethical issues

Congratulations on your nomination for the "Understatement of the year" award!

He seems to have major ethical issues every cycle he runs in. Trips to Cuba, underage prostitutes, bribes...

Democrats should have thrown his ass to the curb already.

[Senator Incitatus]

He has ethical issues

Congratulations on your nomination for the "Understatement of the year" award!

He seems to have major ethical issues every cycle he runs in. Trips to Cuba, underage prostitutes, bribes...

Democrats should have thrown his ass to the curb already.

To make more explicit his current issues:

The Obama DOJ put him on trial for corruption, for which he would have been convicted if not for:

(a) The tightening of federal bribery standards under McDonnell v. United States in 2016.

(b) His politically-toxic but legally-convenient defense that it wasn't a bribe, just a political favor for a personal friend.

I would rank him as the very least-respected Senator in the country.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It might be time for Menendez to leave the Senate.

[South Dakota Democrat]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

Really, did Obama force him to be corrupt?

[Zaybay]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

So you are a Obama-Trump voter, huh? Interesting. What Dem would make you come back?

just curious.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

So you are a Obama-Trump voter, huh? Interesting. What Dem would make you come back?

Well, Stein for my conscience (slightly better candidate than Trump) and morale (since Trump was destined to lose and I didn't to vote for a loser!!!). But give me CUOMO or BIG JOE!!!! I also want to hear more from the Avenatti and Frederica Wilson! Lots of strong candidates!

[South Dakota Democrat]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

So you are a Obama-Trump voter, huh? Interesting. What Dem would make you come back?

Well, Stein for my conscience (slightly better candidate than Trump) and morale (since Trump was destined to lose and I didn't to vote for a loser!!!). But give me CUOMO or BIG JOE!!!! I also want to hear more from the Avenatti and Frederica Wilson! Lots of strong candidates!

You're trolling, right?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

So you are a Obama-Trump voter, huh? Interesting. What Dem would make you come back?

Well, Stein for my conscience (slightly better candidate than Trump) and morale (since Trump was destined to lose and I didn't to vote for a loser!!!). But give me CUOMO or BIG JOE!!!! I also want to hear more from the Avenatti and Frederica Wilson! Lots of strong candidates!

You're trolling, right?

Of course not. The Democrats have a very strong bench. They just need to steer clear of socialist Sanders and crazy Kamala!

[Suburbia]

Some NJ Republicans don't like Hugin either.....he's a pharma exec

The South Jersey conservatives who are less wealthy than their central and Northern Jersey counterparts rely on pharma drugs and the jacking up of the drug prices could be linked to Hugin


Hugin vs. Menendez is truly a less of two evils election.

No one honorably wants to run for political office anymore in America because American politics is gutter politics. It makes for more entertainment and watching of interest

Americans get the government that they deserve

Menendez is a tough politician, he will win by 6-10 points, but this will be a race to watch in the autumn.

If Menendez wins reelection in 2018, he should not run again in 2024.

[South Dakota Democrat]

The Obama indictment of Menendez was nothing but political revenge by playing with a man's life for stepping out of line. If we lose this seat, I will squarely place the blame on Obama. I am pro-Obama, and it brings me no pleasure to say something so attacking of his character.

So you are a Obama-Trump voter, huh? Interesting. What Dem would make you come back?

Well, Stein for my conscience (slightly better candidate than Trump) and morale (since Trump was destined to lose and I didn't to vote for a loser!!!). But give me CUOMO or BIG JOE!!!! I also want to hear more from the Avenatti and Frederica Wilson! Lots of strong candidates!

You're trolling, right?

Of course not. The Democrats have a very strong bench. They just need to steer clear of socialist Sanders and crazy Kamala!

In what universe is Cuomo a strong candidate?

[Bojack Horseman]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

[Senator Incitatus]

Hugin vs. Menendez is truly a less of two evils election

Menendez is a tough politician, he will win by 6-10 points, but this will be a race to watch in the autumn.

If Menendez wins reelection in 2018, he should not run again in 2024.

No big fan of Hugin here (mostly because of his business record), but to equate his character to Menendez's seems pretty ridiculous and worth correcting.

There are legitimately sympathetic arguments for high pharma prices (which you probably know are the actual base of our state's economy) – they're necessary to stay competitive in a rotten industry, are usually covered by insurance, and they fund R&D that can be used to end other, currently-untreatable diseases. Hugin always seems to have understood the problems with his industry unlike e.g. Martin Shkreli.

I don't buy these arguments much, but I can't think of a similarly compelling argument for helping a fraudster rip off Medicare because he's your pal. (I'm not even going to get into the prostitution claims.)

Otherwise I agree – Menendez will win a tough race or drop out. He should never have run in the first place, let alone in 2024.

[Calthrina950]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

[Calthrina950]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

And Hugin, from what I've been told, seems to have moderate views on social issues. But unfortunately, most voters are probably like Wolverine22, in the sense that they will support a candidate no matter what they do, so long as they have an R or D next to their name. That was what happened in Alabama with Roy Moore last year. 91% of Republicans supported him even after the pedophilia allegations came out.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

And Hugin, from what I've been told, seems to have moderate views on social issues. But unfortunately, most voters are probably like Wolverine22, in the sense that they will support a candidate no matter what they do, so long as they have an R or D next to their name. That was what happened in Alabama with Roy Moore last year. 91% of Republicans supported him even after the pedophilia allegations came out.

I would assume Hugin has somewhat moderate social views; it'd likely be mandatory for a republican to win in New Jersey with far right social views. I don't know much about his positions, but I'd gather that they probably are somewhat close to my blue state Republican Governor's positions - social moderate / fiscal conservative.

And re: Moore, there's a non-crazy argument to be made that it's more strategically inept to end up with Menendez, as opposed to Moore. It of course goes without saying that morally, Moore's behavior is considered worse by the overwhelming majority of people, but his behavior came to light only after winning his primary. Menendez had been indicted, had the case end in a mistrial, and was severely sanctioned by the full Senate before his primary. And it's not like NJ doesn't have a deep Dem bench. I just fundamentally don't understand the loyalty the party and by extension, the voters, has shown to Menendez, especially when contrasted against Menendez's former colleague from Minnesota.

[BudgieForce]

I hope Monmouth polls this race again so we can all shut up about the ethics of voting for Menendez.

Heres there last poll in April btw, during the actual trial.

https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_NJ_041218/

I dont think Menendez will win by 21, but he'll easily clear double digits.

[Averroës Nix]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

And Hugin, from what I've been told, seems to have moderate views on social issues. But unfortunately, most voters are probably like Wolverine22, in the sense that they will support a candidate no matter what they do, so long as they have an R or D next to their name. That was what happened in Alabama with Roy Moore last year. 91% of Republicans supported him even after the pedophilia allegations came out.

Yeah, Hugin is running one of the most moderate campaigns of any Republican candidate this year. New Jersey often has Green Party candidates on the ballot though, among others, so voters have other options for expressing their dissatisfaction with Menendez while still casting a vote.

If you're someone who cares about corruption, access, campaign finance laws, or anything like that, I don't think you can justify voting for someone like Menendez. If this makes you feel guilty about jeopardizing control of the Senate, assuage your conscience by sending $50 to Joe Donnelly or someone else in a competitive contest.

[Calthrina950]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

And Hugin, from what I've been told, seems to have moderate views on social issues. But unfortunately, most voters are probably like Wolverine22, in the sense that they will support a candidate no matter what they do, so long as they have an R or D next to their name. That was what happened in Alabama with Roy Moore last year. 91% of Republicans supported him even after the pedophilia allegations came out.

I would assume Hugin has somewhat moderate social views; it'd likely be mandatory for a republican to win in New Jersey with far right social views. I don't know much about his positions, but I'd gather that they probably are somewhat close to my blue state Republican Governor's positions - social moderate / fiscal conservative.

And re: Moore, there's a non-crazy argument to be made that it's more strategically inept to end up with Menendez, as opposed to Moore. It of course goes without saying that morally, Moore's behavior is considered worse by the overwhelming majority of people, but his behavior came to light only after winning his primary. Menendez had been indicted, had the case end in a mistrial, and was severely sanctioned by the full Senate before his primary. And it's not like NJ doesn't have a deep Dem bench. I just fundamentally don't understand the loyalty the party and by extension, the voters, has shown to Menendez, especially when contrasted against Menendez's former colleague from Minnesota.

I don't understand the last part, in bold, either. But I think the difference in how these situations were treated was that Minnesota, both at the time the allegations against Al Franken came out, and now, had a Democratic Governor, whereas Chris Christie was still in office while Menendez's corruption trial was underway. Partisan concerns were probably the reason why the Democrats did not apply pressure on Menendez at that time to resign. And once his case ended in a mistrial, they could make the claim that the matter had been litigated, and that it was time to move on. Hopefully, since Menendez will win reelection (unless if he is charged again or sexual allegations on par with Moore's come out), this will be his last term, and he will either retire or be primaried out in 2024.

[Calthrina950]

As long as it wasn’t Roy Moore-type allegations against him, I’d enthusiastically vote for Menendez in this race. This election is a referendum on Trump, therefore you need to vote for the party, not the person. I’d vote for Rod Blagojevich or Edwin Edwards before I’d vote Republican in any congressional race this year.

That's not necessarily true. I would rather support the candidate that has at least some ethics over the one that does not. I'm not a straight-ticket voter who votes based purely on party identification. I look at the candidates, evaluate their relative merits, and vote accordingly.

This is really the only way to properly vote - take the candidates that you're given, weight their positions in terms of personal importance and vote for the least bad option. In most cases, this exercise will result a vote for the candidate of the party where the voter most often leans, but for voters with less traditional priorities or candidates with ethical issues, the calculus is less straightforward. On Menendez, I would - without hesitation - cast a Hugin vote in New Jersey because Bribery Bob is that odious. Presumably, based on this poll, a fair number of left-leaning indies feel the same way.

And if it gets too close for comfort and the national party has to deploy resources to HEAVEN FORBID New Jersey to defend a corrupt senator in a so-called blue wave year, it becomes yet another piece of evidence that the DNC does not have core principles the way a political party should.

And Hugin, from what I've been told, seems to have moderate views on social issues. But unfortunately, most voters are probably like Wolverine22, in the sense that they will support a candidate no matter what they do, so long as they have an R or D next to their name. That was what happened in Alabama with Roy Moore last year. 91% of Republicans supported him even after the pedophilia allegations came out.

Yeah, Hugin is running one of the most moderate campaigns of any Republican candidate this year. New Jersey often has Green Party candidates on the ballot though, among others, so voters have other options for expressing their dissatisfaction with Menendez while still casting a vote.

If you're someone who cares about corruption, access, campaign finance laws, or anything like that, I don't think you can justify voting for someone like Menendez. If this makes you feel guilty about jeopardizing control of the Senate, assuage your conscience by sending $50 to Joe Donnelly or someone else in a competitive contest.

I certainly do care about these things, which I why I would not be voting for Menendez if I were a New Jersey voter. But unfortunately, many Democratic voters will overlook this and vote for him just because he is a Democrat, and just because they can't stomach voting for a Republican or a third-party candidate. The irony is that this was true in 2016 with many Republican voters, who voted for Donald Trump (despite their personal misgivings with him), just because he was a Republican and was better than the alternatives. I am not like this, which is why I went third-party in 2016 and split my ticket otherwise.