Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla To Challenge Rep. Rob Menendez

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced Tuesday that he will challenge Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. for New Jersey's 8th District House seat in next year’s Democratic primary. [UPDATE: Read Menendez's response to the news here.]

Bhalla announced his bid for Congress in a video shared on social media.

The announcement came several months after reports that he was trying to gauge interest in a run, and that he had raised $506,000 for the run, a significant amount.

In the video, Bhalla said he plans to focus on issues including health care, housing, reproductive rights and climate change.

“I believe that America is better than the demagogues who seek to divide us or the politicians who strive only to serve themselves," Bhalla said in the video over images of Menendez Jr. and his father, Rep. Bob Menendez Sr.

Rob Horowitz, a political spokesman for Bhalla, confirmed to Patch in September that Bhalla was considering a run.

Horowtiz told Patch, "He will be a formidable candidate with the capacity to raise the necessary amount of money to get his message across to 8th District Democratic primary voters."

If Bhalla wins the seat in November 2024, he would be required to step down as mayor.

Bhalla was elected to his second term in office in 2021, fresh from shepherding his city through the COVID crisis. He ran unopposed.

Besides serving as mayor of mile-square Hoboken, Bhalla also works as an attorney.

Menendez Jr., a lawyer and Jersey City resident, was first elected to the House of Representatives last year. Meanwhile, Menendez Sr. and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, are facing federal charges following a September indictment accusing them of accepting bribes.

Menendez Jr. has not been named in the indictment.