New Jersey U.S. Senate candidate Bob Hugin (R) “has spent his entire campaign distancing himself from President Trump. A last-second endorsement from the president likely will not help his long-shot bid to unseat scandal-wracked Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ),” CNBC reports.

In an Election Day tweet, the president said Hugin “would be a great senator from New Jersey.” Trump added: “He has my complete and total endorsement!”

A Menendez campaign spokesman responded simply: “Thank you.”

“This election is about who gets the vote out and who doesn’t and I hope it rains hard tomorrow.”

— New Jersey Senate candidate Bob Hugin (R), quoted by the New York Times.

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds a big shift by independent likely voters has pushed Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to a double-digit lead over challenger Bob Hugin (R), 55% to 40%.

“New Jersey Democrats are growing increasingly worried that Sen. Bob Menendez could lose his seat next week in an outcome that would undercut the party’s effort to take back the Senate,” Politico reports.

“Democratic strategists working on races across the state said in interviews that they have seen a remarkable decline in support for Menendez as his Republican opponent — former pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin — poured $36 million of his own wealth into his campaign.”

New York Times: “Democrats are poised to win a number of governorships across the country and perhaps control of the House on Tuesday, thanks in large part to a suburban backlash to President Trump. But in a state rich with commuters and cul-de-sacs, party leaders are being forced to mount a last-minute, all-hands-on-deck effort to rescue Mr. Menendez’s candidacy and preserve their long-shot dreams of a Senate majority.”

“So, in an already difficult election year for Senate Democrats, when they are defending 10 states Mr. Trump carried, the party was forced to spend significant time, money and energy attempting to retain a seat in a state Hillary Clinton carried by 14 points.”

The Newark Star Ledger endorses Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) in an editorial titled, “Choke it down, and vote for Menendez.”

This year’s U.S. Senate race presents the most depressing choice for New Jersey voters in a generation, with two awful candidates whose most convincing argument is that the other guy is unfit to serve.

But please, don’t walk away. Being a patriotic American is not just about fighting enemies abroad or helping flood victims at home. It’s about making our democracy work, even when pulling the lever brings no joy.

Why no joy? Because both candidates are slippery characters, even by Washington standards.

A new Emerson College poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) holds a 5-point lead over challenger Bob Hugin (R) in the tighter-than-expected New Jersey Senate race, 47% to 42%.

A new Rutgers-Eagleton poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Bob Menendez maintains a narrow five point lead over challenger Bob Hugin (R), 51% to 46% among likely voters.

Said pollster Ashley Koning: “After his recent onslaught of attack ads against Menendez, Hugin is making this race much closer than it should be for an incumbent in a blue state. But what’s most responsible for the narrow margin here is the corruption charges against Menendez that have haunted his entire re-election campaign. Mistrial or not, the charges have dampened support where Menendez needs it most – with independents and even a handful of his own base.”

A new Monmouth poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) leads challenger Bob Hugin (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 40%.

“The incumbent’s lead expands to 50% to 39% using a model that incorporates a turnout surge in Democratic areas of the state. A model projecting lower overall turnout also shows Menendez with a comfortable lead of 51% to 39%. All leads in the current likely voter models are statistically significant.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leading challenger Bob Hugin (R) in the U.S. Senate race by seven points, 51% to 44% among likely voters.

“The Senate Democrats’ leading super PAC is set to spend $3 million in bright blue New Jersey in an effort to save Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who has struggled to put away a Republican challenger after facing a corruption trial last year,” the HuffPost reports.

“Senate Majority PAC, which is controlled by allies of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), will use the cash to air a statewide ad attacking Menendez’s opponent, former pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin, as an ally of President Donald Trump in a state where the president is deeply unpopular. “

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leading Bob Hugin (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 11 points, 53% to 42% among likely voters.

Only 5% of likely voters remain undecided, but 13% of voters who do name a candidate say they could change their mind by Election Day.

A new Fairleigh Dickinson poll finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leads challenger Bob Hugin (R), 43% to 37% among likely voters.

Key finding: “Almost a third (29%) of registered voters say they are undecided in the contest between Menendez and Hugin. This is down from the 46% of registered voters who were undecided in a pre-primary, hypothetical match-up when the same question was asked in May. There remains a sizable number of Democrats who are undecided.”

A new Stockton University poll finds Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) barely ahead of challenger Bob Hugin (R), 45% to 43% among likely voters, with Libertarian Murray Sabrin at 3%.

“Menendez, who was reprimanded by a Senate ethics panel after corruption charges were dismissed following a mistrial, is viewed unfavorably by 54%, with 30% having favorable views and 6% unsure.”

A new Quinnipiac poll finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leads challenger Bob Hugin (R) by a slim 43% to  37%.

Said pollster Mary Snow: “As Menendez sees his once dominant lead whittled down to single digits, New Jersey voters are sending a clear message. They are troubled by the ethics cloud hanging over him.”

New York Times: “Facing a deep-pocketed Republican challenger, a blitz of negative ads and lingering concerns over a lackluster performance in an uncontested primary, Mr. Menendez’s race has started to concern some Democrats. After weathering a criminal indictment and a harsh ethics rebuke from his Senate peers, Mr. Menendez may find himself in a tough enough re-election fight that will force the party to devote money and energy needed in other races critical to the party’s quest to retake Congress.”

Bob Hugin (R), who’s running against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), “pushed back against efforts to allow women into all-male eating clubs while attending Princeton University,” The Hill reports.

“When Hugin was a student at Princeton in the 1970s, he fought back against efforts to allow women in as president of the Tiger Inn, one of the university’s all-male eating clubs, where upperclassmen dined.”