‘Everybody’s nervous’: Sen. Bob Menendez tries to stave off Democratic disaster
An unpopular incumbent Democrat, Gov.
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That Booker was even there -- for his second of three rallies that day campaigning with fellow Sen.
"They're desperate," Hugin told supporters in
Menendez is leading in public polls in his bid for a third term, but the baggage he carries from a years-long pursuit by the FBI has put the state in play even as he tells voters the stakes in November have "never mattered more."
Although the senator survived a federal corruption trial last year, the allegations left him wounded. In a deep-blue state, polls show Menendez is less popular than
A loss in
It would represent a rebuke not just to Menendez but also to the Garden State's Democratic leaders, who immediately coalesced around the senator after his trial ended in a hung jury last November.
"Everybody's nervous," said one
Menendez has framed the election as a referendum on Trump, warning of the president's efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act and raising the prospect that
In an interview, Hugin said Trump's referendum will come when he stands for reelection in 2020.
"
Menendez has several advantages. Registered
And opposition to Trump has fueled energy in suburban congressional districts where
Some
In television ads and on the stump, Menendez and his allies have tried to make the case that a vote for Hugin is a vote for the Trump agenda.
Hugin, 64, a
Aware of the danger of being perceived as close to Trump in a state
He says he favors abortion rights and a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants. He wrote on Twitter that Trump was wrong to say he'd end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment.
While Hugin campaigns as a centrist with an inclusive message, Menendez's allies are trying to mobilize the Democratic base by pointing to controversial
Speaking in
"Let me tell you something I know about
For his part, Menendez, 64, is highlighting his personal story as the son of Cuban immigrants who grew up in a
But the election, he said in
"It's about you," Menendez said. "It's about our community. It's about our country, and where we're going."
The message resonated with voters like
Trump, he said, is "dividing the country much too much, and there's no one down there to check him."
Hugin charges that Menendez abandoned his roots, pointing to the bribery allegations. Prosecutors accused the senator of accepting lavish gifts from a
A judge declared a mistrial and later acquitted Menendez of some of the charges. Prosecutors then dropped the case, but the
"We take a lot of crap, being from
Supporters burst into applause when Hugin said that his internal polling gave him a 2 percentage point lead. The campaign declined to provide the poll.
One big question is whether suburban voters supporting Democratic House candidates like
Interviews Thursday with voters on
Arot recalled being scolded by his liberal friends for "wasting" his vote in 2016 by voting for
This year,
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