Former Bayonne Mayor Richard Rutkowski is the seventh Democrat who endorsed Republican Bob Hugin for U.S. Senate, citing corruption as the chief reason for ditching incumbent Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

New Jersey has 2.2 million Democrats, 1.3 million registered Republicans, and 2.34 million unaffiliated voters registered to vote statewide.

Hugin’s campaign team released Democratis endorsements in each of the past seven weeks. They came from:

Demetrius Terry of the College Democrats; former Middle Township Mayor Mike Voll; Branchville Mayor Anthony Frato; 2014 11th District congressional candidate Mark Dunec; Ocean County Freeholder candidate Teddy Price; and Brick Township Councilman Jim Fozman, who cut his ties with the party shortly after losing an election to become municipal Democratic chairman by a 49-8 vote to Brick Township Mayor John Ducey.

These defections have not made much of an impact on the race.

One observer said, “The Hugin campaign had secured a series of small-ball Democratic endorsements, including a Brick councilman, an Ocean County freeholder candidate, a one-time Democratic congressional candidate who lost by a 2-1 margin, and the mayor of a Sussex County town with a population of 851.”

Hugin has not secured support from any Democrat considered particularly prominent. including Menendez’s primary challenger, Lisa McCormick, the progressive movement leader who earned about 160,000 votes. Polls show Democrats with a significant advantage going into the midterm election and President Donald Trump’s approval ratings in New Jersey are enough to weigh down clouds.

“Bob Hugin has demonstrated a genuine interest in putting divisive party politics aside to develop a bi-partisan consensus to address issues such as improving the health care system and getting Washington to be more responsive to the needs of people in New Jersey,” said Rutkowski, who was the Peninsula City’s mayor from 1990 to 1994 and a councilman from 1978 to 1986.

“I’m tired of watching the ineffective, partisan gamesmanship in our nation’s capital,” said Rutkowski. “As a former Army infantry officer, I believe it’s time to send in a Marine. It’s time to send in Bob Hugin.”

Rutkowski has previously supported Republicans, including 2015 GOP Assembly candidate Matthew Kopko.

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