Menendez drops to single digits in New Jersey Senate bid after indictment: Poll

Sen. Bob Menendez‘s (D-NJ) reelection bid appears to be in jeopardy as New Jersey Democrats favor his challenger by a wide margin.

The embattled senator is not faring well in a new Senate survey, with only 9% of Democrats saying they would reelect him, according to a poll conducted by Data for Progress and obtained by HuffPost. Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who launched a run against Menendez after indictment charges over bribery allegations were released, has a big lead, with 48% of state Democrats favoring him.

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Kyle Jasey, the son of Democratic Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, filed to run in August, and 3% of New Jerseyans reported they would vote for Kyle Jasey. Many voters are undecided, with 40% unsure who they would select.

Kim announced he would run for Menendez’s Senate seat in 2024 on Sept. 23, one day after the New Jersey senator was indicted on charges of allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his position to benefit the Egyptian government. Investigators discovered over $100,000 worth of gold bars in his Englewood Cliffs home, along with $550,000 in cash.

Menendez pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York last week and said this week he would not step down from his position despite growing concern from Congress members suggesting that he should resign. His wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and the three New Jersey businessmen included in the indictment — Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, and Wael Hana — pleaded not guilty.

This is the senior New Jersey senator’s second indictment, with the first coming in 2015 on allegations related to luxury vacations and gifts and more than $600,000 in campaign donations from a Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen, who was also indicted.

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The new poll is a stark contrast to the public outlook throughout his previous legal battles. In 2015, he had a 42% approval and 38% disapproval rating, and in 2018, he sat at an evenly divided 37% approval and 38% disapproval rate, according to Monmouth University surveys.

The survey showed that 78% of respondents think he should resign, and 95% of New Jerseyans have heard about his latest legal troubles.