The 2018 United States Senate election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of New Jersey. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Menendez won election to a third term over Republican businessman Bob Hugin, after the former's criminal trial ended in a mistrial.
The candidate filing deadline for Democratic and Republican candidates was April 2, 2018, and the primary election was held on June 5, 2018. The deadline for independent candidates was June 5, 2018. Despite the race being rated as a tossup by some political pundits, including The Cook Political Report, Menendez was reelected by an 11.2% margin. However, Hugin was the first Republican Senate candidate to carry Atlantic and Gloucester counties since 1972, and the first Republican to do so in this seat since 1970.
Menendez was later convicted of separate federal corruption charges in 2024 and resigned from the Senate.
While he never lost support from any major New Jersey officials, after a mistrial was declared in Senator Menendez's corruption trial, party figures across New Jersey lined up with public endorsements of his reelection bid, including the "full support" of Governor Phil Murphy. He formally declared his intention to run for reelection on March 28, 2018, alongside Governor Murphy and Senator Cory Booker.
Bob Hugin launched his primary campaign on February 13 in Springfield. He began advertising on television two weeks later, attacking Menendez on the airwaves, and was soon considered the presumptive nominee. His opponent, Brian Goldberg, attempted to connect himself to President Donald Trump and his supporters by inserting the president's abbreviated slogan, "MAGA", into his ballot slogans and aligning himself with other pro-Trump, anti-establishment candidates. Goldberg also attacked Hugin's running mates, urging Republicans to write in the deceased Charlton Heston in primary races where a Republican congressional candidate was running unopposed. Ultimately, Hugin won overwhelmingly with a majority of votes in each of the state's 21 counties.
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Kean vs. Andrews<br />
Codey vs. Kyrillos<br />
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Menendez won six of 12 congressional districts. Hugin, however, won the remaining six, including five that elected Democrats.
Official campaign websites