NJ elections 2018: Democrats downplay uneasy Bob Menendez win after corruption charge Democrats remain confident of Menendez win despite the primary surprise

Charles Stile | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Sen. Bob Menendez lays out his case for re-election Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez talks about battling corruption charges and criticizes Republican opponent Bob Hugin in a June 4, 2018 interview.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker's recorded testimonial for "my partner," fellow New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, pulsed with conviction and enthusiasm.

"And he is a colossus when it comes to making things happen for our state,'' Booker said in a robocall message on Sunday.

It seems the colossus was knocked off stride Tuesday by a political gadfly.

Instead of celebrating Menendez's primary victory with 62 percent of the vote, New Jersey Democrats are evaluating — and downplaying — the political damage inflicted by second-place finisher Lisa McCormick, a little-known Union County activist and community newspaper publisher who captured 38 percent of the vote despite having little name recognition and no organization, and who apparently raised so little money that her campaign never filed a report with the Federal Election Commission.

Instead of reveling in the long-awaited blessing of the rank and file, Menendez was faced with an internal party protest, perhaps a measure of lingering unease about having the survivor of a federal criminal corruption probe sitting at the top of the Democratic ticket this fall.

And it may also reflect discontent over the party leaders' swift coalescing around Menendez, which virtually locked out possible stronger challengers for the nomination — an echo of the complaint voiced against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential nomination. That anger gave rise to Bernie Sanders' anti-establishment candidacy.

Menendez, who is seeking his third full term, is set to face Republican Bob Hugin, a wealthy former pharmaceutical executive from Summit.

"About one percent of those of who voted for Lisa McCormick had any idea of who she was or what she was,'' said Patrick Murray, the Monmouth University pollster. "It was obviously a protest vote against having a nominee who they aren't thrilled with."

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Indeed, Democratic Party leaders — from Booker to Gov. Phil Murphy to county chairmen — have been in lockstep solidarity behind Menendez since he survived an 11-week corruption trial that ended in a hung jury last November. Federal prosecutors then dropped the rest of the case after the judge said the government failed to provide evidence that more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from donor and longtime friend Salomon Melgen were bribes.

And that solidarity remained steadfast even in April, when the Senate ethics committee severely admonished Menendez. The committee said Menendez broke Senate rules by accepting trips as well as stays at resorts, while advocating Melgen's personal and business interests.

Yet despite Menendez's institutional advantages — running as a Democrat amid an anti-Trump wave and a 900,000 edge in Democratic Party registrations — Republicans believe the McCormick surprise is only an early sample of the larger surprise to come this fall.

"The senator's opponent had no money and was virtually unknown, yet got nearly 40 percent of the vote and won six of 21 counties across the state. That is unheard of,'' said Megan Piwowar, a spokeswoman for Hugin. "We absolutely want those frustrated Democrats to know that Bob Hugin will be an independent voice who puts New Jersey first, and we would welcome their support."

Menendez's legal troubles already serve as a centerpiece in a series of Hugin's attack ads released this spring. "It's a disgrace. New Jersey deserves better than Bob Menendez,'' intones the narrator of one ad.

Menendez's defenders acknowledge that those ads over the past month may help explain McCormick's stronger-than-expected showing.

But they say Hugin essentially got a free pass this spring, since Menendez chose not to spend money responding with his own counterattack, which boils down to this: that Bob Hugin, Donald Trump donor and a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention, will rubber-stamp Trump's right-wing agenda if elected. Trump is deeply unpopular in New Jersey.

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2018 NJ election: Why Bob Hugin is running for U.S. Senate against Bob Menendez Republican Senate candidate Bob Hugin talks about his New Jersey roots and why he decided to get into the race against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.

"Senator Menendez’s opponent has been on television over the last five weeks. He spent 5 million dollars in unanswered attacks. That’s going to make a little bit of a difference," said Brendan Gill, a Democratic consultant. "I think people start to compare and contrast the two candidates — which you are going to see more in the general election season — I have no doubt that Senator Menendez will be victorious."

Menendez also intends to neutralize the ethics issue by targeting Hugin as a rapacious Big Pharma CEO. In interviews, Menendez blasts Hugin's record at Celgene, especially the he company's increases in the price of cancer drugs, its efforts to thwart the production of cheaper generics, and a $280 million settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit alleging the firm improperly marketed some drugs. That record will be part of the media campaign in the fall.

"We haven't spent on television yet, because every dollar saved during a primary will go much farther during the general election, and we can't allow Bob Hugin to go to Congress and cast a vote for Donald Trump against New Jersey values,'' said Michael Soliman, a Menendez political adviser.

Democrats also point out that McCormick's 158,000 votes were roughly 9,000 less than Hugin's total. And they note that Menendez's 260,000 votes exceeded the combined results of Hugin and another Republican candidate, Brian Goldberg, a construction company owner.

Mikie Sherrill factor?

Still, some Democrats privately fretted that Menendez could be a drag on Democratic congressional candidates running in tight races this fall. Menendez's performance in some key areas was underwhelming.

Although the totals are small, McCormick captured 60 percent of the vote in Hunterdon, which is part of the 7th Congressional District, where Tom Malinowski, a former deputy secretary of state under President Obama, is trying to unseat incumbent Leonard Lance.

McCormick's surprising finish pointed to potential trouble spots for Mikie Sherrill, the former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor from Montclair who handily won the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District. She will square off against Republican Jay Webber, a veteran state legislator.

The district includes parts of Sussex County, which McCormick won. And while Menendez carried Morris County, the core of the district, McCormick garnered 43 percent of the vote.

At her campaign victory party Tuesday night, Sherrill ducked questions about the possible risks of having Menendez top the ticket this fall. Asked if she now considers Menendez an "obstacle" in her election, she replied, "You know, this is really about the 11th District and how we move forward. So I think voters here care very much about the things I’ve outlined: quality, affordable health care, a tax plan that invests in the middle class, and getting the Gateway tunnel funded."

In his taped message, Booker says, "this election, the stakes are higher than ever." After Tuesday, the hurdles for Menendez also got a little higher.

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