U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez all but secured a second term Tuesday, and he has many a voter — and the mayor — in his hometown of Union City to thank.
The entirety of North Hudson, in fact, favored Menendez except for a few pockets mostly on the Weehawken and West New Yorkwaterfronts. This proved critical to his victory in the Democratic primary since turnout was highest in North Hudson and much of Hoboken and Jersey City opted for Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
As if there was any doubt, it’s now clear Union City Mayor Brian Stack’s ability to mobilize voters remains a critical tool for candidates, especially now that the county line, a ballot configuration that for decadesplaced all candidates endorsed by the county machine in a vertical line, has been eliminated.
Menendez’s ability to win a first primary reelection, even despite a tougher race this time around, may also offer a hint for how the Eighth District seat will look for years to come. Incumbent members of the House of Representatives nationwide are notorious for being able to win reelection, sometimes holding onto the seat for decades.
Frank Guarini held the seat for 14 years (1979-1992), followed by the senior Menendez for another 14 (1993-2006), before Albio Sires for 18 years (2006-2023) — and none of them were voted out of the office.
The junior Menendez is expected to easily defeat Republican Anthony Valdes in heavily Democratic district in the November general election.
“From the bottom of my heart, to the voters of the Eighth District: Thank you,” Menendez wrote in an Instagram post. “We always said we would do this together and we did.”
Menendez, who headed back to Washington, D.C., Wednesday, could not be reached for comment.
Voter turnout countywide was 12% Tuesday, but voters in Union City districts turned out at some of the highest rates in the county, according to the county’s unofficial election results.
For years, Stack has maintained a robust get-out-the-vote initiative that includes an army of volunteers canvassing the city on election day.He and the Hudson County Democratic Organization, of which he is a powerful member, endorsed Menendez.
“I think the campaign shows that when somebody goes out there and really runs a good decent campaign, they can be victorious even whether it be with the line or without the line,” Stack said. “I think that was shown in this election by Rob.”
The 38-year-old Menendez also grew up in Union City, where his father, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was serving as mayor.
His father was perhaps his greatest weakness throughout his reelection campaign, as the senior Menendez faces federal bribery charges in a trial currently playing out in Manhattan.
Bhalla campaigned against the Menendez family as a whole, with messaging consistently tying the father and son together, even though the younger Menendez has never been implicated in any of his father’s alleged crimes. Bhalla even managed to go toe-to-toe in fundraising with the congressman.
“While tonight wasn’t the outcome we desired, I’m tremendously proud of the campaign we ran,” Bhalla tweeted Tuesday. “Democracy won, and the people of our district — for the first time in years — had a true choice at the ballot box.”
Stack said he interpreted the election results as proof that voters don’t need the line to help them navigate to the candidate they want.
“People will find you wherever you are on the ballot,” Stack said in direct contrast to those in seats of power who so desperately fought to hang onto to “the line” before it was eliminated.
“The lines matter to a certain degree, I think we would be foolish not to realize that, but I think overall when people want to vote for you, when people want to find you on the ballot, it doesn’t really matter where you are. They will find you.”
While Hudson County voting districts represent the greatest portion of Eighth Congressional District, there are also portions in both Union and Essex counties, and Menendez found even greater success there than in Hudson County overall.
Menendez earned 60% of the vote in Elizabeth and 57% in the Newark portion of the Eighth, according to the preliminary results, compared to his 53% in Hudson County.
