2006 N.J. U.S. Senate Race

Sen. Robert Menendez, a Union City native who rose to national prominence in the Democratic Party, today beat back an unexpectedly fierce challenge to retain his Senate seat and become the first Hispanic elected to statewide office.

Menendez, appointed to the office last year, led his Republican rival, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., by 10 points, 54 percent to 44 percent, with nearly three-quarters of precincts reporting.

"Tonight, the people of New Jersey embraced a new direction for our nation and rejected the politics of personal destruction," Menendez, flanked by his son and daughter, told a cheering crowd at the East Brunswick Hilton. "Thank you, New Jersey."

"Politicians in Hudson County come and go, most go directly to jail, unfortunately some get away. The residents of Hudson County are good, decent and hard working people and truly deserve representatives who are honest, ethical and of strong moral character. Condoning suspected, proven, or associated ties to unethical or illegal activity and political corruption by our elected officials is what gives Hudson County a bad reputation. To change this reputation we need to choose candidates to replace those suspected or accused of wrong doings. As a 13 year veteran Hoboken police officer and president of the Hoboken Policemen's Benevolent Association, I proudly announce my personal endorsement of Tom Kean Jr., as our next U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Tom Kean Jr., is someone with unquestionable morals and ethical character who will in times of public crisis and threats to our home land security deliver strong and steady representation in Washington D.C. This election is not about partisan politics. For if it were, I being a registered democrat from Hudson County would not be supporting Tom Kean Jr. It is about something much more important. It's about the economic future and safety of our State and the Nation and electing someone right for achieving these objectives. And that someone is Tom Kean Jr."

–Vincent Lombardi from Hudson County
Union City, NJ



"I lived in Hudson County all my life. Since High school I've seen nothing but Democrats get hauled off to Jail. I'm a Democrat and have lost faith in ever reforming the local party. I want to remain a Dem, but keeping Bob in power will only keep the crooks around him flourishing. You folks need to work harder. I'm a former councilman who just called to offer help and your aides had no intrest? That attitude and you will lose."

–Tony Soares from Hudson County
Hoboken, NJ

BAYONNE, N.J. — Senator Robert Menendez is not directly involved in building the new waterfront development that will soon rise here in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. But his influence can be seen throughout it.

The project, which occupies the 437-acre site of the abandoned Military Ocean Terminal, is being built with the help of nearly $30 million in federal funds that Mr. Menendez secured using his trademark policy expertise and aggressive politicking. His work provided the seed money for a plan to produce movie studios and shops, marinas and waterfront parks, and 6,600 homes.

The project has also produced considerable work for some of his chief political supporters.

Republican state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. yesterday questioned why Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez would enlist the services of one the state's top defense lawyers if he isn't under a federal criminal investigation.

Menendez has said the lawyer, Joseph Hayden, contacted the U.S. attorney around the time a subpoena was issued for records from a federally funded nonprofit agency that paid more than $300,000 to rent a row house that Menendez owned in Union City.

MENENDEZ - KEAN DANCEOFF

Less than two weeks before the election, Union City psychiatrist Oscar Sandoval yesterday filed court papers accusing U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of shaking him down for political contributions and jobs for others in exchange for "protection" of the doctor's county contracts.

The accusations were included in a request to add Menendez as a defendant in Sandoval's countersuit against Hudson County. The county, in a wide-ranging civil complaint filed in January, claims Sandoval received lucrative contracts at the county jail and psychiatric hospital after bribing former County Executive Robert Janis zewski, who is now in prison.

TRENTON, Oct. 22 — The New Jersey Supreme Court is carrying much constitutional freight as it considers whether the state will be the second in the nation to find that gay couples have the right to marry. But for those watching the court, speculation has centered lately on smaller issues, like the chief justice’s birthday and the re-election prospects of Senator Robert Menendez.

Lawrence S. Lustberg, who argues frequently before the court and represents the gay plaintiffs in the case at hand, said the decision in the case, Lewis v. Harris, “is the most eagerly anticipated opinion” he has ever seen.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez appears to have opened a significant lead over Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. as voters focus more on the war in Iraq and the GOP's congressional scandals.

The latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll shows Menendez's lead at nine percentage points. Nearly half of the likely voters, 48 percent, said they would vote for Menendez, while 39 percent said they would vote for Kean.

A Nod to Lieberman (for a While, at Least)
October 20, 2006 The NYTimes

It was perhaps one of the most short-lived endorsements that Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has received in his independent quest for re-election.

On Wednesday night, the two United States Senate candidates in New Jersey addressed several hundred people at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, N.J., as part of a forum sponsored by the Metro West Jewish Federation.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's official position on the Connecticut Senate race is complicated enough.

He supported his fellow Democratic senator, Joseph Lieberman, when the Connecticut incumbent was challenged by Ned Lamont in the state's Democratic primary this past summer. But in their second face-off -- Lamont being the Democratic nominee and Lieberman an independent on the general election ballot -- Menendez backs Lamont.

It got even more complicated Wednesday night in Livingston, where Menendez spoke at a forum organized by the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey. Menendez left the distinct impression with that audience that he supports Lieberman, who is Jewish.