Menendez approvals still upside-down

With five years to go before he faces New Jersey voters again, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez has an upside-down 36%-43% job approval rating, a new Monmouth University Poll has found.

Among registered voters, the number is at 37%-45%.

His approvals have not changed much from a February Monmouth Poll which Menendez’s approval rating were at 40%-45%.

Despite struggling approvals, Menendez still set a record for the most votes ever received by a U.S. Senate candidate in a non-presidential year when he defeated Republican Bob Hugin by 11 percentage points, 54%-43%.  Hugin had spent more than $36 million of his own money to defeat Menendez.

“Senator Menendez is focused every day on picking up Democratic Assembly seats this year, re-electing our great Democratic House members next year, and most importantly, making sure that Donald Trump is a one-term president,” said Michael Soliman, Menendez’s top political advisor.  “I’m confident that as New Jerseyans continue to watch Bob Menendez fight for them in the U.S. Senate, he’ll be well-positioned for his third consecutive double-digit win in 2024.”

This story was updated at 11:01 AM with comment from Soliman.