GOP seeks to link Gopal to Menendez

In one of New Jersey’s most competitive State Senate races, Republicans are trying to tie a Democratic state senator and a State Assembly candidate to indicted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.

“Despite Democrats’ recent and self-serving attempts to distance themselves from embattled Senator Bob Menendez, voters should know that Senator Vin Gopal has been part and parcel with the endemic corruption that has flourished under one-party rule,” said Steve Dnistrian, who is challenging Gopal in the 11th legislative district.

Dnistrian and his running mates are pointing to a 2018 Menendez campaign press release where Gopal and his running mate, Luanne Peterpaul, served on leadership councils for the senator’s re-election campaign.   Gopal backed Menendez for re-election in 2012 when he was the Monmouth County Democratic chairman and donated to his 2018 campaign.

But on Friday, hours after the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Menendez had been charged with accepting bribes, Gopal became the first of a long list of Democratic lawmakers to tell Menendez to resign.

“The charges brought against him in today’s indictment give us serious concern about his ability to represent the people of New Jersey in the U.S. Senate,” Gopal said on Friday.   “In the interest of the state, we call on Senator Menendez to resign and allow our state to move forward.”

Dnistrian and his running mates, Assemblywomen  Marilyn Piperno (R-Colts Neck) and Kim Eulner (R-Shrewsbury), called for Menendez to step down earlier in the day.