Rep. Rob Menendez faces tough primary battle amid father’s corruption trial

Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., is looking to fend off a primary challenger on Tuesday in a race that has been overshadowed his father’s ongoing corruption trial.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has sought to tie the congressman to Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who is facing federal bribery charges. The elder Menendez has pleaded not guilty and Rob Menendez has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Still, America’s Promise PAC, an outside group supporting Bhalla, launched a TV ad, with a narrator saying: “They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So it’s no wonder that Rob Menendez is defending his father’s corruption,” later adding that the congressman is “rotten to the core.”

Representing the majority-Hispanic 8th District in northern New Jersey, Rob Menendez is the state’s only Hispanic member of the House. He’s had support from BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Protect Progress, a group tied to the cryptocurrency industry.

Sen. Menendez is also up for re-election this year, but he filed Monday to run as an independent. Rep. Andy Kim is expected to secure the Democratic Party's nomination on Tuesday, but has warned that Menendez's independent bid could put seat in deep blue New Jersey in jeopardy for the party.

Other Senate matchups will also be set in Tuesday’s primaries, including in Montana, where Republicans are expected to pick businessman and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in one of the most hotly contested races of this election cycle.

In New Mexico, Republicans are also expected to nominate Nella Domenici, whose late father Pete Domenici served as the state’s senator for more than three decades. If she wins on Tuesday, she’ll face