Who can beat Menendez in a primary?

[Schiff for Senate]

Cory Booker

Very interesting - I mean, it actually could be possible he'd do that (unironically), but I still find it very unlikely. It's been known to happen that senators who leave office switch to the other senate seat (Goldwater, most prominently), or people who run for a senate seat and then lose run successfully for the state's other senate seat later on - but for an incumbent senator to run for the state's other senate seat, that'd be very unusual indeed (a first?). I would dismiss it completely, and probably still will, but it's not entirely possible if Menendez becomes a bigger embarrassment and Booker wants to prove something.

[Schiff for Senate]

Rob Menendez, Jr.

Lol. Though in seriousness, he does have a House seat now, of course, and who knows, he might run for his father's seat when Bob retires.

[Schiff for Senate]

Cory Booker

Very interesting - I mean, it actually could be possible he'd do that (unironically), but I still find it very unlikely. It's been known to happen that senators who leave office switch to the other senate seat (Goldwater, most prominently), or people who run for a senate seat and then lose run successfully for the state's other senate seat later on - but for an incumbent senator to run for the state's other senate seat, that'd be very unusual indeed (a first?). I would dismiss it completely, and probably still will, but it's not entirely possible if Menendez becomes a bigger embarrassment and Booker wants to prove something.

Kent Conrad promised in 1986 not to run for re-election if the budget deficit didn't fall, which was moderately stupid on his part. Quentin Burdick, who held the other seat, died, allowing Conrad to run in the special election for the other seat.

Yeah, I remember reading that on Wikipedia fairly recently. I read about it a few years back as well, but I guess I didn't remember when I wrote this post.

Regarding Conrad, though, one wonders where his political career would've gone had Burdick not died at that frankly opportune moment for Conrad.