Atlantic Dems may change rules to ban those under federal indictment from seeking county line

If indicted Senator Bob Menendez chooses to run for re-election next year, he may be ineligible to receive the county organizational line in Atlantic County, thanks to a rule change that Atlantic Democrats are considering.

Atlantic Democratic chairman Michael Suleiman, who called Menendez’s apparent decision to run for re-election “disappointing,” said that he will work to make it so that those under federal indictment can’t compete for the party line in the South Jersey county.

“After this election, I will be asking our members to amend our convention rules so that anyone currently under federal indictment will not be eligible to seek our party’s endorsement. I am confident this amendment will pass,” Suleiman said. “While Senator Menendez may have the ability to run for re-election next year, he won’t be doing so on the Atlantic County Democratic party line.”

The immediate concrete ramifications of such a policy change would be minimal, since Atlantic Democrats would be deeply unlikely to support Menendez for re-election regardless. Suleiman is one of 13 Democratic county chairs to call for Menendez to resign; if county conventions were held today, Menendez might not get the party endorsement in a single one of them.

Still, Suleiman’s proclamation is yet another sign that Democrats are thoroughly finished with Menendez – a far cry from the senator’s previous indictment in 2015, when nearly every major Democrat in the state stood by him and he got party support in all 21 counties.