US Sen. Bob Menendez is petitioning to run for Senate as an independent candidate, in a last ditch attempt to save his political career.
The embattled New Jersey Democrat is facing federal charges of fraud, extortion, bribery and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt between 2018 and 2022 — while serving as chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez, who bowed out of his state’s Democratic primary, has been personally collecting signatures to get ballot access, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Andrea Renault/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
The senator needs 800 valid signatures before the June 4 deadline to secure access to the 2024 ballot.
Should Menendez get on the ballot, his presence could throw a wrench into 2024 Senate races, and instantly put New Jersey in play for Republicans.
“We’re keeping a close eye on New Jersey,” Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee told The Post.
The political machinations could give Menendez leverage in his upcoming trial, which is expected to wrap around the end of June.
Menendez has consistently proclaimed his innocence and has vowed to beat the charges against him.
A 2017 effort by the US Department of Justice to put him away on similar corruption charges ended in a mistrial.
Though Menendez’s cash reserves have dwindled as his legal bills have mounted, his campaign war-chest of $3.5 million is more than enough to mount a credible challenge.
