Fetterman says he’d support primary challenge against Menendez

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who over the weekend became the first senator to call for indicted Senator Bob Menendez to resign, said today that he’d back a Democratic primary challenge against Menendez in 2024.

“Hell yes, I’d support a primary challenge,” he said in response to a question from the New Jersey Globe.

One top-tier challenger, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), is already running against Menendez, and several other candidates are looking at the race as well. Fetterman said it’s too soon to lend his support to any one challenger, but he reiterated that ousting Menendez is crucial.

“That’s a little early, but I absolutely support a primary,” he said. “We cannot have this seat in play, now, because of this. It’s not about him. It’s about control of the seat and the Senate. We have our colleagues in tough, hard races right now to maintain that majority, and this is beyond selfish.”

While Fetterman was the first senator to call for Menendez’s resignation, he has since been joined by a veritable chorus of his colleagues. By the latest count, more than 20 Democratic senators have said the senator should step down, among them fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

No matter how many senators criticize Menendez, though, few of them are likely to do so as unsparingly as Fetterman, who beat a New Jersey native in his closely watched Senate race last year.

“Letting this slide up until this point has emboldened [Menendez] to act the way he’s ‘alleged’ to have done,” Fetterman said. “The last time there was a guy in New Jersey with this much cash in his house was Tony Soprano.”