National Democrats buy another big announcement for Menendez

A super Democrat PAC aligned with the leader of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, is making another big announcement in New Jersey to help Senator Bob Menendez in a state that would normally be a trap for them.

Recent polls have shown that Menendez, a 12-year-old incumbent, led Republican Bob Hugin by 2 to 12 percentage points.

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The announcement of the $ 2.8 million purchase of the PAC in the Senate, announced Thursday, indicates that Democrats are at least concerned about the race. The group announced a $ 3 million advertising purchase last week.

Hugin, meanwhile, continues to spend a lot on the race. Last week, he gave an additional $ 3.5 million to his campaign, bringing his total cash flow to $ 27.5 million – the vast majority of what his campaign has reported.

The Senate PAC majority announcement contains most of the themes that Menendez and other Democrats have used against Hugin since the announcement of his campaign in February: his background as a pharmaceutical executive at Celgene , in New Jersey, his ties to President Donald Trump and his support for Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

At the same time, Hugin airs a second advertisement that mentions anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations against Menendez in 2012 that the senator allegedly solicited underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.

Menendez and Hugin debated for the first and only time Wednesday night. Hugin sought to declare his independence from Trump and knocked out Menendez – who survived a corruption trial in federal jurisdiction last year after an error in the trial – on ethics. Menendez has repeatedly referred to Hugin's links with Trump.

Under normal circumstances, Menendez would not be vulnerable in deep-blue New Jersey, where registered Democrats are nearly one million more Republicans than Republicans, and Republicans have not won Senate elections since then. 1972.

Although polls show that Menendez leads the race, largely because of Trump's unpopularity in New Jersey, they also show voters an extremely unfavorable view of the senator.

Menendez's legal problems and Hugin's deep pockets forced the National Democrats to pay more attention to the New Jersey race than they normally would.