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Christine Serrano Glassner says she welcomes Bob Menendez’ reelection bid as an independent.
No kidding.
Having Menendez in the race is great news for Republicans, and Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham, is one of those seeking the GOP Senate nomination.
Assuming Menendez follows through, the landscape for the Senate race this fall will be either Andy Kim or Tammy Murphy on the Democratic ticket, a Republican and then, the “independent” Menendez, who is really a Democrat.
Wisdom suggests whatever votes the embattled incumbent gets will come from Democrats, which has to help Republicans.
And Lord knows, they need the help, given the fact it’s been more than 50 years since Republicans have won a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. And that was Clifford Case, the type of Republican who would be labeled a “RINO” today.
Moving back to 2024, “wisdom” aside, it’s worth wondering just how stellar of a candidate Menendez is going to be?
Watch political races for a while and you discover that independents always “poll better” than they actually do. That was true years ago with Ross Perot nationally and more recently (in 2009) when Chris Daggett ran as an independent for governor. He was well received during the campaign, but was no factor at all when voters actually went to the polls. Daggett got a bit less than 6 percent.
Already, some have suggested that Menendez may draw from Latino voters. That seems a bit insulting, no?
Many different ethnic groups make up the so-called bloc of Latino voters and they all don’t think a lot. Moreover, let’s not assume Latinos are going to back an ethically-challenged politician just because he’s named Menendez.
This brings us to the senator’s social media video announcing his run as an independent.
The gist of it was that he plans to be “in the clear” a few months before Election Day.
“I am hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer,” he says.
The trial is scheduled to begin in early May, so it’s possible it can be over by July.
Of course, the senator is banking on being found “not guilty.” Anything can happen at trial, but to any objective observer, the allegations about Menendez having oodles of cash hidden in his house, plus the infamous gold bars, seems pretty damning.
One must also ask, “Why?”
Why does Menendez want to run as an independent? On one hand, it’s an acknowledgement that he has no chance to get the Democratic nomination.
On the other, he may truly think he’s not guilty and may not care at all if his entry into the race hurts his fellow Democrats – even in a small way.
In his video, the senator, who always likes talking about growing up in a “tenement” in Union City, highlights the federal aid he’s secured for New Jersey to fight the impacts of recession, Sandy and the pandemic.
He proclaims that he’s always been a “fighter.”
Fair point, but in this case, he seems to be fighting more for his own career than any high-minded principle.
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