Indicted NJ Sen. Menendez May Run As Independent-NBC

NBC News is reportingthat according to its sources, indicted US Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez could run for re-election as an independent in November. Democrat and former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, face 18 federal counts related to the alleged accepting of bribes from a foreign gov't, acting as a foreign agent and conspiracy to obstruct justice, among others. While he stepped down from the committee when indicted he has resisted calls to resign.

• NBC: "He is now making calls to allies about his record and career and is preparing to collect petitions to run in November as an independent, the sources said. [...] running as an independent would give him more time; in that case, he would only need 800 signatures by June 4th to qualify for the ballot."
• NBC also reports "Menendez's legal bills are mounting and he can only fundraise if he is a candidate on the ballot, the sources noted."
• New Jersey is seen as a Democrat stronghold. The last elected non-Democrat senator was Republican Clifford Case, who left office in 1979, and the Garden State last voted for a Republican presidential candidate in the form of George H.W. Bush in 1988.
• However unlikely, should Menendez make it onto the ballot he could act as a spoiler, drawing votes away from the eventual Democrat candidate and opening the door to an unexpected GOP win.