Bhalla launches campaign for NJ-8 against younger Menendez

 

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla officially entered the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 8th congressional district this morning, setting up a bruising battle against Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), a first-term congressman and the son of indicted Senator Bob Menendez.

“We are at a pivotal moment in our nation, facing rising sea levels, rising inequality and rising hatred,” Bhalla said in a statement. “For Congress to rise to the challenge, we need new voices and new leadership – leadership that is focused on making real progress on solving problems and ensuring that all New Jerseyans and Americans no matter their skin color, ethnicity, gender, whom they choose to love, or where they started in life can still realize the American Dream.”

Menendez has been considered vulnerable to a primary challenge since September, when explosive federal charges were brought against his father. While the younger Menendez is not implicated in the charges, his political career (and his name) is heavily tied to that of the elder Menendez, whom polling shows to be wildly unpopular among New Jersey voters.

But Bhalla’s launch video largely ignores his opponent; neither Menendez is mentioned by name, though Bhalla does say that “America is better than … the politicians who strive only to serve themselves” while an image of both Menendezes plays.

Instead, Bhalla focuses heavily on his own story: as the son of Indian immigrants who was subjected to bullying and discrimination, made a career as a civil rights attorney, and entered the world of local politics in 2009 when he was elected to an at-large seat on the Hoboken City Council. He narrowly won the mayor’s office in 2017 with the endorsement of outgoing mayor Dawn Zimmer, and was re-elected unopposed in 2021.

“I believe in the America that my parents came to with seven dollars to their name and dreams that anything was possible,” Bhalla says in the video. “Where an immigrant story is the American story, and where this Jersey kid can be proud to raise some Jersey kids of his own – to work towards a brighter future for them and for you.”

Bhalla indicated that health care, housing, abortion rights, and climate change would be his top policy priorities in Congress.

Congressman Menendez, on the other hand, pulled no punches in his reaction to Bhalla’s campaign announcement.

“I welcome Ravi into the race, especially since he can validate the work we’ve done on behalf of the residents of Hoboken,” Menendez said in a statement. “While we have advocated tirelessly for Hoboken, it seems the only reason Ravi has entered the race after endorsing me in 2022 and publicly applauding our work this year is because a week after losing control of the city council, he sees no political future for himself in Hoboken.”

Menendez was first elected to the 8th district – which includes most of Hudson County, parts of Newark, and the city of Elizabeth – last year, after Rep. Albio Sires (D-West New York) decided to retire.

Within days of Sires’s retirement, the Hudson County Democratic machine had lined up behind Menendez, who was then a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and who had never run for public office before. With the field cleared of any prominent opponents, Menendez overwhelmingly won both the primary and general elections for the safely Democratic seat.

Hudson Democrats plan to support Menendez again next year, although they’ve ditched his father in the concurrent U.S. Senate race. But polling shows that Congressman Menendez could still be in for a tough renomination fight, and some key officeholders – most notably Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop – aren’t lining up behind the congressman.

That leaves an opening for Bhalla, who says he’s already raised more than $500,000 for what was until today a prospective campaign. One other challenger, real estate lender Kyle Jasey, is also in the race, though he’s not likely to be a major factor.

If elected next year, Bhalla would be the first-ever turbaned Sikh to serve in Congress. But while the 8th district is home to a sizable Asian American community in Jersey City, Hispanic and Latino residents make up a majority of the district’s population; Menendez is currently New Jersey’s only Hispanic member of the House.

The Bhalla-versus-Menendez contest is also set to happen downballot of the contest for the U.S. Senate, which is generally viewed as a fight between First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown). (The elder Menendez hasn’t announced whether he plans to seek re-election, but he’d be near-certain to lose if he did.)

Murphy has already gotten the support of the Hudson Democratic organization, including endorsements from 11 of the county’s 12 mayors – with Bhalla as the one exception. Bhalla’s congressional campaign could ultimately tie itself to Kim, who intends to run an aggressive off-the-line campaign in most of the state.

This story was updated at 10:58 a.m. with comment from Congressman Menendez.

Announcement video script: “This is a story about a Jersey kid who grew up not looking like all the other Jersey kids. My parents came here from India to work hard and honestly, with only the promise of opportunity, and to practice our Sikh faith in a country where it is self-evident that all of us are created equal. But that didn’t stop the schoolyard bullies from hurling insults or tugging on my hair.

I fought back the only way I knew how: on the diamond and the court. When my baseball helmet wouldn’t slide over my patka, my coach modified one that would fit me on the field. He knew our team was stronger when each of us could play.

In the courtroom, I fought barriers to access and for those who faced discrimination. Hate has many faces. But all are cowardly and familiar.

[Anchor: ‘A racist flier in Hoboken.’]

[Anchor 2: ‘A candidate for mayor labeled a terrorist on a leaflet.’]

On the city council, I helped clean up a city suffering from graft and mismanagement. And my first act as mayor was to declare Hoboken a welcome city for all.

But with rising inequality and climbing sea levels, this moment requires change that is momentous. I believe that health care is a human right. Housing is a human right. Reproductive rights are human rights. The climate crisis is not a predetermined catastrophe, but a challenge we can and must meet.

My name is Ravi Bhalla. As mayor I tackled these problems head on.

[Newscaster: ‘A new renewable energy program in Hoboken, Mayor Ravi Bhalla says it will allow residents to get more of their energy from green sources.’]

Now, I’m running for Congress in New Jersey’s 8th congressional district because I believe that America is better than the demagogues who seek to divide us or the politicians who strive only to serve themselves.

I believe in the idea of America that my parents came to with seven dollars to their name… and dreams that anything was possible. Where an immigrant story is the American story, and where this Jersey kid can be proud to raise some Jersey kids of his own – to work towards a brighter future for them and for you.”