Politics

New Jersey Democrats Are So Done With Menendez That A Progressive Leader Just Endorsed Republican Challenger

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New Jersey Republican Senate hopeful Bob Hugin gained the support of a progressive millennial leader who dropped his endorsement of sitting Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez Wednesday.

Democrat Demetrius Terry, 25, is executive director of the Jersey City Health and Public Safety Coalition and held multiple positions of leadership within the College Democrats of New Jersey.

“As a proud progressive Democrat, I am proud to support Bob Hugin and would urge my fellow Democrats to do the same,” Terry said in a statement, according to a Hugin campaign press release. “Bob Hugin is a different type of Republican who understands the issues that the people of New Jersey care about. He will be a strong, independent voice for the people of our state. Bob Menendez has left our state behind and I can no longer support career politicians putting self-interest politics ahead of the people and state of New Jersey.”

“With millennials leaving New Jersey at the highest rate in the nation, it’s incredibly encouraging to have leaders like Demetrius willing to address these issues head on,” Hugin said in a statement. “As Senator, I look forward to working with him and others to make positive change.”

The endorsement comes as a Wednesday poll shows Menendez with a negligible lead that could be as low as one point, although another Wednesday poll gave the New Jersey senator an 11-point lead, reported NorthJersey.com.

Menendez’s campaign is vulnerable after he narrowly escaped conviction for corruption in 2017.

Hugin is the former CEO of pharmaceutical company Celgene and has been funding much of his campaign with his own wealth.

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