NJ-Sen: Incumbent Democrat Senator Bob Menendez wins primary in spite of scandal

Politico has named U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) the winner in the Democratic primary for his seat.

What are the numbers?

With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Menedez was standing at 61.6 percent of the vote, while his challenger, Lisa McCormick, was at 38.4 percent.

Menendez will face off against Republican Bob Hugin this fall, who was declared the winner with 76 percent of the votes to going to him, compared to the 24 percent cast for his primary opponent, Brian Goldberg.

So, any projections on the general election yet?

Republicans hope that the recent corruption and bribery scandal faced by Menendez will be enough to cast doubt about the incumbent among New Jersey voters. But a mistrial was declared in the case against the senior senator, and Democratic voters outnumber Republican voters by roughly 900,000 in the state.

Hugin is the retired former chairman and CEO of pharmaceutical firm Celgene, and has loaned his own campaign millions in the race thus far.

While prosecutors had vowed to retry Menendez, saying it's "just a matter of when," the DOJ dismissed the remaining charges against him early this year. And after two terms in his current office, the sitting senator has already built entrenched relationships with interest groups that want to see him in for another six years.

Chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Party Lou Stellato said that Menendez "has always had and will continue to have my unwavering support."

"We cannot let the dark cloud cast by the President define us as a country," Menendez says speaking of President Trump in a recent campaign ad.



In spite of the bad press against Menendez, Hugin is still likely facing a tough battle to unseat the Democrat. But the campaign for Hugin has already run ads hitting out at Menendez and highlighting the Senator's legal troubles.