Hugin hits his rival Menendez with ethical charges in a race in the N.J.

NEWARK, NJ – During a recent election campaign at a Latin American community center, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez urged voters to think about the issues of his race for re-election: the economy, health, rights.

A key problem was not retained: himself.

"This election is not about me," he told the crowd. "It concerns you and our country."

Not exactly. New Jersey residents, in successive polls, have expressed concern over the incumbent legislator, who had escaped a guilty verdict when his corruption trial resulted in a federal corruption conviction, 39, last year. Driven down by exorbitant disapproval rates, he faces a tight race to get a third term in a state that has not elected a Republican to the US Senate since 1972.

But while Menendez is grappling with ethical issues, his Republican opponent, Bob Hugin, a Marine Corps veteran and former leader of a biopharmaceutical giant who has spent millions of dollars of his money with negative ads, has a potentially more important problem: President Donald Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in the blue state.

"Admittedly, corruption charges, even if they were dismissed, are widespread and have been reinforced by the heavy weight of Hugin advertising," said Ben Dworkin, director of the Institute of Public Policy and Public Policy. citizenship of Rowan University. , in Glassboro, NJ "It's definitely going to make a difference in the way people see Bob Menendez."

Menendez, accused of accepting gifts from a Florida ophthalmologist found guilty in return for defending his business interests, was later "severely reprimanded" by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Near a year later, voters have not forgotten. Several polls reveal very high levels of disapproval for the senator – who won the reelection six years ago by almost 20 percentage points – with the accusation of corruption weighing heavily on him.

A survey conducted by Stockton University earlier this month indicated that Menendez led Hugin among potential voters between 45% and 43%. It was found that 54% of likely voters considered Menendez unfavorably, compared to 30% of them, and nearly 60% of respondents said that the corruption charges against Menendez constituted an "extremely important or significant" factor in their vote.

Similarly, a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday showed that Menendez figured between 51% and 44% of New Jersey voters, likely among New Jersey voters. 52% of respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of Menendez, compared to 36% of voters.

And on Thursday, the University of Monmouth published a poll that "government corruption" was the second most important issue of race, behind health care.

Hugin took advantage of this finding, pummeling his opponent in television commercials on ethics and unfounded allegations that he hired underage prostitutes while traveling in the Dominican Republic. (Menendez denied the charges and several media outlets, checking the statements, found no evidence to support them.)

Menendez, 63, has strongly criticized Hugin with his own negative ads about his time as a pharmaceutical executive at Celgene Corp. The Democrat also sought to convince the Republican of Trump.

"There is a big difference between fighting for the people of New Jersey … and someone who stands alongside Trump," Menendez told NBC News in a recent interview. "He stands with Donald Trump foursquare, I opposed Donald Trump."

But Menendez simply has not been able to track Hugin's expenses. Hugin lent $ 24 million of his own campaign to his campaign. By September 30, it had already spent about $ 23 million, according to documents filed by the FEC, mainly in television ads. In comparison, Menendez raised about $ 11 million and by September 30 had spent about $ 7 million, depending on the deposits. Last week, a major senate PAC, the Democratic ruling Senate, announced that it would spend $ 3 million to strengthen Menendez to fill the gap.

Hugin, for one, has tried to keep his distance with the president, who polls say is unpopular in the state.

"This race is Bob Hugin's race against Bob Menendez," he told NBC News in a recent interview. "It's a New Jersey race."

"I'm going to stand up to anyone," Hugin added, nodding when asked if it included Trump.

This 64-year-old Marine Corps veteran supports same-sex marriage, LGBTQ rights and abortion, an attractive resume for a New Jersey Republican, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by more 900,000.

But while Hugin had repeatedly publicly spoken out against Trump administration policies, he was also the financial chairman of Trump's 2016 campaign in New Jersey, donated his campaign and was delegated to Republican National Convention 2016.

And that might be enough for Menendez, whose race is still called "Democratic Lean" by Cook's political report

"In the beginning, the lawsuit and all that has resulted have been a factor for me," said Barbara Tillman, a 72-year-old Newark resident who supports Menendez, noting that he had not been sentenced. "No one is perfect – I would always prefer to have someone who will support Trump's agenda."