Stack, HCDO will stick with Rob Menendez in 2026

Facing another potential primary challenge in the 8th congressional district this spring, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) will officially retain the support of the powerful local Democrats who helped get him elected in both 2022 and 2024.

Union City Mayor/State Sen. Brian Stack, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy (also the chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization), and six other local mayors announced today that they’ll support Menendez to a third term in Congress; Stack called re-electing Menendez a “critical priority” for him.

“Rob has been a trusted and dependable ally in the important work we do for Union City and the 33rd legislative district,” Stack said in a statement. “Whether it is securing funding for our community improvement projects, or handling constituent issues, Rob has always been a strong fighter for our residents. Sending him back to Washington is a critical priority of mine and I am proud to give him my full support.”

Besides Stack, the mayors backing Menendez are West New York’s Albio Sires, Kearny’s Carol Jean Doyle, Harrison’s James Fife, Weehawken’s Richard Turner, Guttenberg’s Wayne Zitt, and East Newark’s Dina Grilo.

The endorsement announcement casts aside any lingering speculation that party leaders might be looking for an alternative to Menendez, and essentially guarantees that Menendez will get official party support in Hudson County, though that support no longer comes with the county line like it used to. The 8th district also includes Elizabeth and parts of Newark, which are in different counties; in 2024, though, Union and Essex Democrats simply followed Hudson’s lead in backing Menendez.

“Rob has been a vital partner for Hudson County in Washington and at home,” Guy said. “From bringing back federal resources for critical infrastructure projects to being on the frontlines in standing up to Trump to protect and defend our communities, we have always been able to depend on Rob. I look forward to working to re-elect Rob and to continuing to work together on improving the lives of Hudson County residents.”

Not on the endorsement list are two newly elected mayors, Jersey City’s James Solomon and Hoboken’s Emily Jabbour; both supported Menendez’s opponent, Ravi Bhalla, in the 2024 primary election. Also missing is North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who has spent the last several years in a bitter feud with Stack and who has broken firmly from the broader HCDO.

In 2022, early support from top HCDO leaders helped Menendez, the son of now-disgraced ex-Senator Bob Menendez, win his Democratic primary with only minimal opposition, securing the first-time candidate a safe seat in Congress.

Two years later, however, the elder Menendez’s indictment on corruption charges threw his son into a competitive and bitter primary against Bhalla, and there was a short period where it looked like Menendez might not get party support for re-election at all. Stack and the HCDO ultimately chose to stick with the congressman, and he prevailed by a healthy margin thanks in no small part to his dominant win in Union City and the rest of majority-Hispanic North Hudson.

After several reform-minded candidates won key elections in Hoboken and Jersey City last year, though, the progressive bloc that took on Menendez in 2024 may be interested in trying again. The congressman doesn’t have any declared opponents yet, but former Jersey City school board president Mussab Ali, a recent candidate for Jersey City mayor, is interested in a campaign.