NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Without mentioning him by name, Sen. Robert Menendez got in a dig at his opponent.

Kicking off the 43rd annual Hispanic State Parade here Sunday, the New Jersey Democrat said he was happy to be here — “not for the first time, as some people are.”

And then came the isolated chants: “Hugin, Hugin!”

Republican Senate nominee Bob Hugin and his staff had come up to the starting line of the parade that Menendez was supposed to lead. Wearing their blue “Send in a Marine” T-shirts and waving a giant Cuban flag, Hugin’s crew stood face to face with the local Marine Corps ROTC midshipmen holding a large banner for the senator.

Police eventually told Hugin’s team they’d have to return to their float farther back in the parade lineup. Back they went without a fight.