For the first time since 1972, New Jersey Republicans find themselves with a real chance to elect a US senator — and rightly so, since incumbent Bob Menendez stands exposed as blatantly corrupt. Which is why The Post is happy to endorses GOP challenger Bob Hugin.

Hugin probably wouldn’t stand much chance in deep-blue Jersey. But Menendez has richly earned his massive unpopularity with Garden State voters.

Hugin promises New Jersey “a senator we can be proud of.” And Menendez is anything but that — simply put, he’s an embarrassment.

Although his trial for corruption ended with a hung jury, no one denies that Menendez received lavish gifts — free vacations, watches and $600,000 in campaign donations — from Solomon Melgen, a wealthy eye doctor.

Just as no one denies that he intervened with federal agencies on behalf of Melgen (later convicted in a $73 million Medicare fraud scheme), including obtaining visas for the doctor’s “girlfriends” from Brazil, Ukraine and the Dominican Republic.

A Supreme Court ruling raised the bar high for public corruption convictions, and prosecutors were unable to prove an actual quid pro quo. But the Senate Ethics Committee severely admonished Menendez, saying he’d broken the law.

Little wonder that Jerseyans seem to have reached their own verdict on Menendez — with polls showing more than half of them saying ethics is the major factor deciding their vote.

On the issues, Menendez is a cookie-cutter Democrat, with one key exception: He’s been a leading supporter of Israel and stood nearly alone in his party opposing the Iran nuke deal. On the other hand, in the Trump era he’s been more in lockstep with other Democrats on both issues.

But is his opponent, a political novice, up to the job of replacing him? We believe so.

Hugin, who served 14 years in the Marines and just retired as CEO of a highly successful cancer-drug company, is a straight-up centrist, probably the only kind of Republican who can win in Jersey.

He’s socially liberal — pro-choice, pro-same-sex-marriage, pro-equal-pay-for-equal-work — and a self-described fiscal conservative.

He’s been extremely cautious in his approach toward Trump, embracing some policies and distancing himself from others.

But on key economic issues, he appears committed to common-sense Republican principles. Pushing for lower taxes, he says he’ll work to eliminate or at least raise the cap on state and local tax deductions.

Hugin clearly wants the job: He’s spent millions of his own money on the race and made clear from the start he had no intention of becoming another sacrificial lamb.

And with Republicans now looking likely to retain control of the US Senate, a Hugin win would give the Garden State a voice with the majority caucus.

Voters can choose to believe Menendez’s claim that, after more than 30 years in elected office (and two terms in the Senate), he’s finally learned his lesson and will behave himself in the future. Sorry — we’re not buying it.

New Jersey, and the nation, will be much better off with Bob Hugin in the Senate.