The conversation around next year’s Senate races has so far focused on fewer than a dozen states that will determine the chamber’s balance of power, plus a few more seats where retirements will pave the way for a new member.
New Jersey has now elbowed its way into the discussion.
After Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted Friday and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to federal bribery charges, his future in the Senate, where he’s served since 2006, is up in the air. Besides saying, “I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez didn’t directly address his reelection plans when he told reporters Monday he expects to be exonerated, but a majority of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate called for him to resign.
