Under normal circumstances, Democratic Senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez wouldn’t be vulnerable in deep blue New Jersey, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost a million. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images National Democrats make another big ad buy for Menendez

A Democratic super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is making another big ad buy in New Jersey to help Sen. Bob Menendez in a state that would normally be a lay-up for them.

Recent polls have shown Menendez, a 12-year incumbent, leading Republican Bob Hugin by anywhere from two to 12 percentage points.


Senate Majority PAC’s $2.8 million ad buy, announced Thursday, indicates Democrats have at least some concern about the race. The group announced a $3 million ad buy just last week.

Hugin, meanwhile, continues to spend big on the race. In the last week, he’s given his campaign another $3.5 million, bringing his total self-funding to $27.5 million — the vast majority of what his campaign has raised.

The Senate Majority PAC’s ad contains most of the themes Menendez and other Democrats have used against Hugin since he announced his campaign in February: His background as a pharmaceutical executive at New Jersey-based Celgene, his ties to President Donald Trump and his support for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

At the same time, Hugin is airing a second ad that brings up anonymous, unsubstantiated allegations made against Menendez in 2012 that the senator solicited underaged prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.

Menendez and Hugin debated for the first and only time Wednesday night. Hugin sought to declare his independence from Trump and knocked Menendez — who survived a federal corruption trial last year after a mistrial — over ethics. Menendez repeatedly brought up Hugin’s ties to Trump.

Under normal circumstances, Menendez wouldn’t be vulnerable in deep blue New Jersey, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost a million, and where Republicans haven’t won a Senate election since 1972.

But even as polls show Menendez leading the race, thanks in large part to Trump’s unpopularity in New Jersey, they also show voters with an overwhelmingly unfavorable opinion of the senator.

Menendez’s legal troubles and Hugin’s deep pockets have forced national Democrats to pay more attention to the New Jersey race than they normally would.