Rob Menendez Jr. Responds To Election Win Over Hoboken Mayor Bhalla

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — Incumbent Rep. Rob Menendez won a hard-fought race for the Democratic nomination to 8th District Congress on Tuesday night, fending off attempts from challenger Ravi Bhalla to link him to his indicted father.

Mail-in ballots were still being delivered on Wednesday, but Menendez's margin of victory was wide enough for the Associated Press to declare him the winner by 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

By Wednesday evening, the congressman had amassed more than 20,000 votes in three counties, around 7,000 more than Hoboken Mayor Bhalla.

"From the bottom of my heart, to the voters of the 8th District: thank you," Menendez said in a statement after midnight on Wednesday.

"We always said we would do this together and we did. Tonight was a great success, but the work continues on tomorrow. And we will continue to fight for and deliver for all the residents of our incredible district."

When asked later if he will work with Bhalla, he said, "My first priority has always been serving the people of our incredible 8th District. Throughout my time in office, I have worked hand-in-hand with mayors and leaders from all of the municipalities that we represent, and that has not changed. Even during the primary campaign, I reached out to Mayor Bhalla to ensure that the Community Project Funding requests that we submitted reflected the needs of the residents of Hoboken — which they did. I will continue to focus on the work and I will always put people over politics."

But It's Not Over

Menendez still has to face challenges on Nov. 4 from the Republican candidate, Anthony Valdes, and potential Independents, all as the presidential race moves forward.

The unofficial 8th Dist. Congress results as of Wednesday evening:

Democrats (Source: Associated Press)

• Rep. Rob Menendez Jr.: 20,765
• Ravi Bhalla: 13,837
• Kyle Jasey: 4,097

Republicans

• Anthony Valdes (unopposed in primary): 3,465 in Hudson County
• Write-In: 114 in Hudson County

How Did Menendez Win?

During the election, Bhalla had pledged to stand up to former Pres. Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. if elected to Congress, and took strong stances on a number of important national and regional issues.

But some local voters complained that Bhalla — who had pledged to be a "full time mayor" when he first ran in 2017 — was spending too much time on his political ambitions, and ignoring issues in his own community. Critics pointed out other jobs he had taken on while mayor.

Some of the most powerful former allies of the mayor spoke out against him in the runup to the election, including his predecessor, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who accused him of slowing down anti-flooding measures.

Menendez also benefited from well-oiled political machines in places like Union City. And some voters didn't fault him for the alleged crimes of his father and step-mother.

"I'm so happy the voters judged you on YOUR merits," wrote one voter. "Congratulations to ROB not Bob Menendez."

Still, Bhalla supporters in Hoboken were already speculating about who would run for mayor to replace him if he had gotten the nomination — and one councilperson allied with him was already running a paid ad on social media for their election fund.

Former Hoboken Councilman Michael DeFusco, who had run for mayor against Bhalla and had expressed his frustrations with the "toxic" nature of local politics, gave some analysis Wednesday.

More Information

There were other contested primary elections in the area on Tuesday, including for president, U.S. Senate, and for Hudson County Surrogate. See the full list here.

See prior analysis and reporting on the election on Tuesday night: Ravi Bhalla Concedes Election To Menendez. But How'd That Happen?