New Jersey Democrats Mull Cutting Menendez Loose

“The explosive indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez has forced an urgent decision on New Jersey Democrats: Stick with a powerful senator who’s survived corruption ordeals before and is known for punishing disloyalty, or cut their losses and protect what should be a safe Democratic seat,” Politico reports.

“A year before Menendez is up for reelection, they’re leaning hard towards the latter.”

“While Democrats stay publicly silent, interviews with half a dozen well-placed Democratic operatives, advisers and staffers show a party stunned by the level of alleged corruption and hard-pressed to imagine a scenario in which the party backs Menendez for another term. But the fact that no one was willing to criticize him on the record in the face of such damning allegations may be reason to question whether state Democrats will ultimately force a reckoning with Menendez over his political future.”