Hoboken mayor Ravi Bhalla may enter primary against younger Menendez in NJ-8

With U.S. Senator Bob Menendez under indictment on federal bribery charges, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is considering a Democratic primary campaign against the senator’s son, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City). If Bhalla does enter the race, it would set up a competitive and volatile contest in the majority-Hispanic district.

Bhalla is making calls to Democratic leaders in the area signaling his interest in running, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

“Mayor Bhalla is focused on delivering for the residents of Hoboken,” Bhalla spokesperson Rob Horowitz said. “He is also seriously considering running for Congress. If he decides to run, he will be a formidable candidate with the capacity to raise the necessary amount of money to get his message across to 8th district Democratic primary voters.”

The younger Menendez was first elected last year to the 8th congressional district, which is based in Hudson County and which was represented by his father two decades ago. Now-Congressman Menendez had never held elected office before, and his path to Congress was heavily facilitated by Senator Menendez.

But with the senator facing serious legal issues and widespread calls to resign, Congressman Menendez may be in jeopardy of losing his seat after just one term. Menendez’s fate will in large part rest with Democratic Party leaders in Hudson, Essex, and Union Counties, who will determine whether he retains the county organizational line.

Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken (pop. 60,419) since 2018, would give Menendez a far more serious challenge than either of Menendez’s little-known 2022 opponents; Bhalla considered running himself last year but ultimately declined.

A civil rights attorney raised in Woodland Park, Bhalla, 49, was elected to an at-large seat on the Hoboken City Council in 2009. In 2017, Mayor Dawn Zimmer chose to retire and Bhalla won the race to succeed her, besting two fellow councilmembers and a county commissioner in the nonpartisan race; he was re-elected unopposed in 2021.

His election as mayor made him the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey, and if elected to Congress, he’d be the first Sikh congressman since California Rep. Dalip Singh Saund left office in 1963. But importantly, if he defeated Menendez, he’d also be ousting New Jersey’s only Hispanic U.S. representative and potentially leaving the state’s large Hispanic community with zero representation in Congress.

That’s already been a major component of Senator Menendez’s defense against calls for his resignation; the senator lambasted those who are “rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat” in a defiant statement last Friday.

Hudson County Democratic leaders might ultimately prioritize preserving Hispanic representation in the 53% Hispanic 8th district. And even if Bhalla did get the organizational line in Hudson County, there’s no guarantee that local organizations in predominantly Hispanic towns like Union City and North Bergen would support him.

Still, even just a prospective Bhalla candidacy is by far the biggest threat to Congressman Menendez’s political future since he entered the race for Congress at the beginning of last year. The younger Menendez’s election to his first term was derided by some as a “coronation”; his second term, on the other hand, is looking like it will be a real fight.

This story was updated at 11:48 a.m. with a statement from Bhalla.