NJ Primary Results: Bob Menendez Wins Tougher-Than-Expected Race

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, besieged by legal troubles over the past year, was declared the winner in the Tuesday Democratic Primary despite finding himself in an unexpectedly tight race against Lisa McCormick, an unknown, little-financed opponent. Other congressional races in the state were also hotly contested.

Set to face former pharmaceutical executive Robert Hugin in the November election, Menendez barely cracked the 60 percent barrier in unofficial results against fellow Democrat McCormick, the publisher of a weekly newspaper who isn't afraid to go after the 12-year senator for his legal troubles.

Nevertheless, Politico and The Associated Press declared Menendez the winner around 9:30 p.m., 90 minutes after the polls closed.

With 90 percent of the precincts reporting, Menendez was winning by 62 percent to McCormick's 38 percent. McCormick was even leading in six counties: Hunterdon, Salem, Sussex, Warren, Sussex and Cape May.

Menendez could face a tougher-than-expected November contest that could provide a boost to the Trump administration's desire to maintain GOP control of Congress.

Menendez thanked voters and said “every campaign is a choice, but I believe the one this November is pretty clear - because the stakes have never been higher.”

“I’ve always fought for New Jersey. That starts with making health care more affordable and accessible, he said. "I’ve stood firm to preserve a woman’s right to reproductive health and to get our fair share of Sandy aid despite a hostile Congress.

“Now, I’m standing up to the Trump war on New Jersey. I opposed the Trump tax scheme that hit middle class taxpayers while favoring giant corporations. And I will never let the Washington Republicans pay for that tax cut by threatening and cutting Social Security and Medicare.”

Hugin, meanwhile, said his primary victory "was a major step forward for our campaign and for New Jersey. But make no mistake – this is just the beginning. Our goal is victory in November and once again giving New Jersey a senator it can be proud of."

Hugin, 63, framed the race as an opportunity for New Jersey voters to replace a "corrupt, ineffective career politician like Bob Menendez, with a successful job-creating business leader and former Marine."

“In the Marines, it's not about Democrats or Republicans. It's about working together," he said. "Frankly, that’s what we need more of in Congress, and that’s the kind of senator I will be for New Jersey."

Michael Soliman, campaign chairman for Menendez for Senate, said the senator "is grateful to the voters for putting their trust in him. He never takes any vote for granted and he's going to fight like hell because we can't allow drug CEO Bob Hugin to go to Congress and be another vote for Donald Trump and against New Jersey's values."

"Bob Hugin just spent millions on attack ads against Menendez," he added, noting that the senator has spent no money so far on ads. "Yet, Menendez got tens of thousands of more votes than both Republicans combined."

His race and a number of contests could set the table for a series of competitive races in November (see results from the big races below).

----Here are the Senate vote totals so far, according to Politico------

Democratic Primary
61.9% Bob Menendez* 237,882
38.1% Lisa McCormick 146,314
93% of precincts reporting (5,899/6,346) *Incumbent
384,196 total votes

Republican Primary
75.5% Bob Hugin 157,812
24.5% Brian Goldberg 51,237
93.1% of precincts reporting (5,906/6,346)
209,049 total votes

Watch discussion of the results for the primary election:

On the Republican side, Menendez's expected well-financed opponent, Hugin, the former chairman of Celgene Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, was declared the winner of the primary by Politico.

Like Hugin, however, McCormick hasn't been afraid to attack the incumbent senator, saying that Menendez's legal woes are still fair game.

"I've had criticism from the Democratic party who said, 'You shouldn't criticize Menendez. He's on our team," McCormick told Patch. "But if we don't do it, then the Republicans will."

Indeed, in commercial after commercial, Hugin has been attacking Menendez despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Justice dropped an indictment against the senior senator from New Jersey earlier this year.

Menendez, a veteran Democrat lawmaker, was accused of offering a friend political favors in exchange for lavish gifts and campaign contributions. In November, a mistrial was ruled in a federal trial against Menendez, who was charged three counts of bribery.

McCormick, who did receive any endorsements from major Democrats and ran a grass-roots campaign, fears that Menendez's troubles could ultimately ruin the party's chances to win the Senate and prevent backers from spending money in battleground state races that are also competitive.

Indeed, a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll said 28 percent of registered voters supported Menendez while 24 percent preferred Hugin. About 46 percent were undecided.

But Patrick Murray, Monmouth University Polling Institute's director, said the anti-Trump sentiment is real, particularly in New Jersey, and that will help Menendez. He did say that anything could change before November.

"When you take the overall atmosphere that exists in New Jersey, that could be helping Menendez," he told Patch.

Soliman said the incumbent "is focused on the issues that matter most to our state, like making sure that every New Jerseyan has access to affordable, quality healthcare, preventing more senseless gun violence, and growing our economy in a way that creates more opportunity for everyone, not just the wealthy."

"This is what matters to people; they want to know how their lives are going to get better and that's what Senator Menendez is working to deliver," Soliman said.

Soliman then targeted Hugin, saying: "It's no secret that Bob Hugin is desperate to deflect from his record at Celgene."

"He spent his career there fighting competition from generic manufacturers and using the monopoly he created to double the price of a drug that cancer patients need," he said. "His tactics were so ruthless that the Trump Administration 'named and shamed' Celgene as the target of the most complaints of anti-competitive practices so they can keep drug prices high."

Soliman claims Hugin and his company paid more than $280 million to settle claims that he "ripped off the government with an elaborate scheme of marketing drugs for unapproved uses that put people's lives in danger."

"What has he had to say to voters about it?" he asked. "Only that he's proud of everything he's done.”

Hugin Communications Director Megan Piwowar shot back with a strong statement, saying: "If Senator Menendez can look New Jerseyans in the eye and honestly tell them their lives are better after his 25 years in Washington, D.C, then he is either clueless or a better liar than we gave him credit for."

"Maybe if Bob Menendez fought as hard for average New Jerseyans as he did for his convicted felon 'best friend' from Florida, we wouldn't be dead last in what we get back from Washington," she said.

Piwowar said Bob Hugin spent the last 20 years building a company that "created jobs and saved lives."

"Bob Menendez's greatest accomplishment is managing to stay one step ahead of the law," she said. "His dishonest smears against Bob Hugin are the last gasps of a corrupt and desperate politician who feels his grip on power slipping more every day."

Here are some other potentially competitive races:

Democrats Hungry For Monmouth Republican Chris Smith's Seat: Click here for results

On primary day, two Democrats faced against each other, both of them eager to unseat longtime Rep. Chris Smith, R-Monmouth, Mercer.

Contested Primaries Set For 2nd Congressional District Seat: Click here for results

On primary day, one of New Jersey's Congressional elections was getting a lot of attention nationally.

When longtime Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo, R-2, opted not to run for re-election this year, his two-year seat immediately caught the eye of national Democrats, who saw it as a seat that could be flipped in the pivotal mid-term elections.

Contested Primary Set For 7th Congressional District Seat: Click here for results

On primary day, there was a heated and contested race for the 7th Congressional District seat.

And it could get even more heated after the primary. The two-year term seat is currently held by Republican Leonard Lance, who has held the seat since 2009. He also may be vulnerable.

NJ 11th Congressional Race: Who's Running & What Do They Believe: Click here for results

A much-anticipated primary race was in New Jersey's 11th district, following long-time Republican Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen's reitrement announcement. It will be the first time since 1992 that Frelinghuysen won't be on the ballot.

Five Republicans and five Democrats were vying for the two-year term to represent the district, which covers most of Morris County and sections of Essex, Passaic, and Sussex counties. The group of candidates includes several veterans, businesspeople, Ph.D's, and lawyers.

Republican Primary Set For 5th District Congressional Seat: Click here for results

There was a contested race for the 7th Congressional District Republican nomination. And the contest was a loud one.

The Republican challengers facing off Tuesday were Steve Lonegan and Scott McCann. McCann, 57, of Oakland is general counsel to the New Jersey Sheriffs Association and Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino. He has never held elected office.

Lonegan ran for governor twice and against now-incumbent Senator Cory Booker in a special election in 2013 to serve the remainder of the late Frank Lautenberg's term.

Lonegan, a former Bogota mayor, has called McCann "liberal" and "pro-abortion" and has called for an FEC investigation into what he called a "despicable and dishonest" pro-McCann mailer.

"I knew the Democrats backing John McCann would come after me with everything they had, but even I didn't think they would stoop as low as funneling money through a c4 and flagrantly violating FEC rules to do it," said Lonegan.

McCann, on the other hand, has said Lonegan is anti-Trump and can't beat the Democrats. "He's just an embarrassment," he said.

Menendez/McCormick photo