Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez will not run in N.J. Democratic primary, but may run as an independent

Sen. Bob Menendez will not run in the New Jersey Democratic primary, but he hopes to run as an independent this November.

The announcement came weeks after federal prosecutors brought new charges of obstruction of justice against Menendez, a Democrat who has been in the Senate since 2006, and his wife, Nadine Arslanian. The new charges add to the sweeping bribery and corruption case the couple already face.

“I am hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election,” he said Thursday evening in a YouTube video.

Menendez, 70, said the allegations against him would prevent him from engaging in dialogue with his would-be primary opponents.

“I know many of you are hurt and disappointed in me with the accusations I am facing,” he said. “Believe me, I am disappointed at the false accusations as well. All I can ask of you is to withhold judgment until justice takes place.”

Menendez would have had to file petitions by Monday to make it on the June 4 New Jersey primary ballot, but if he runs as an independent he can wait until June to file documents to be on November’s ballot.

The race for Menendez’s seat is already underway in a heated matchup between Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and Rep. Andy Kim (D., Burlington).

Both candidates jumped into the race shortly after Menendez was charged last fall and have been campaigning across the state in the lead-up to the primary.

Menendez has maintained his innocence and refused calls to resign, but Thursday’s announcement was the first indication he has given about whether he will run for reelection since he was charged in September.

“When I decide, then everybody will know,” Menendez said earlier this month when asked by a CNN reporter if he would run after his new charges mounted.

Federal prosecutors allege Menendez accepted bribes in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and a luxury car in exchange for helping three New Jersey businessmen with their legal and business problems. The senator is also accused of using his powerful former role as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit Egypt and Qatar.

In the latest indictment, prosecutors argue that Menendez and Arslanian tried to cover up their crimes following an FBI raid on Menendez’s Bergen County home and subpoenas seeking documents related to payments he had received from three New Jersey businessmen. While the charges stem from accusations detailed in previous indictments against Menendez and Arslanian, they bring the threat of potential prison time.

Menendez called the new charges a “flagrant abuse of power.”

“I am innocent,” the senator said earlier this month, “and will prove it no matter how many charges they continue to pile on.”

Jose Uribe, one of the three businessmen and a codefendant in the case, pleaded guilty this month to bribing the couple and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

Uribe admitted to buying the couple a Mercedes-Benz worth more than $60,000 in 2019 in hopes of persuading the senator to interfere in a pending criminal investigation involving two of his associates. He made payments to Arslanian for the car, who had totaled her previous vehicle in December 2018 after striking and killing a pedestrian in Bogota, N.J.

This case comes less than six years after Menendez escaped the threat of conviction in a separate federal bribery probe — one alleging that he accepted lavish gifts, flights on private jets, and campaign support from a Florida eye doctor.

Menendez’s most vocal critic has been Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who made the first call for him to resign. More than 30 of his fellow Democratic senators also said last fall that Menendez should resign, and Fetterman has continued to advocate for Menendez’s expulsion.

“How can we chuck [GOP Rep. George] Santos, but keep a sleazeball like him around?” Fetterman said, referring to the ousted New York congressman.

Murphy, 58, and Kim, 41, have already been campaigning to replace Menendez, as has a field of Republicans, including Cape May hotelier Curtis Bradshaw and former television reporter Alex Zdan.

After Menendez’s announcement, Kim remained confident he could win the seat even if the senator draws away Democratic votes.

“I will win in November even if I have to beat Menendez and a Republican simultaneously,” he said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The balance of the Senate is on the line and we need the strongest candidate possible to keep this seat blue and the Senate in Democratic control.”

Murphy criticized Menendez’s decision to pursue an independent bid. “New Jersey needs a Senator focused on solving the challenges facing our families,” she said on X.

“Senator Menendez continues to place himself ahead of what’s best for New Jerseyans and the Democratic Party as a whole. He shouldn’t have the privilege of serving in the Senate in any capacity,” the New Jersey first lady said.

Without Menendez in the primary contest, allegations that Murphy, the state’s first lady, and her husband are using their power to line up endorsements in the counties have dominated the race, as well as questions about having the two top statewide elected positions in Jersey belong to one couple. Murphy denies that the concentration of power would be an issue, with her husband finishing his final term as governor.

Kim, who has served in Congress since 2019, is a former national security official in the Obama administration who has campaigned outside traditional New Jersey machine politics. He would be the first Asian American U.S. senator from New Jersey.

He filed a federal lawsuit last month asking a judge to call the state’s ballot system unconstitutional. New Jersey is the only state in the nation that categorizes candidates based on who gets the most county party endorsements, rather than the office they’re seeking. This system, known as “the line,” allows candidates with support from the machine to be advantageously placed on the ballot.

Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, has had a prominent role in her husband’s administration.

While Murphy has faced scrutiny over her record as a Republican prior to 2014, she has criticized Kim for not embracing progressive ideas like Medicare for all and President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness. Kim, a member of the House’s progressive caucus, said he wants to explore other health-care options but supports a universal model. As for student loans, he said he wants a legislative fix to address the cost of higher education rather than an executive order.

Two other candidates, Lawrence Hamm and Patricia Campos-Medina, both activists, are also running in the Democratic primary.

Staff writers Jeremy Roebuck and Amy S. Rosenberg contributed to this article.