Rep. Rob Menendez, left, was expected to face a tough primary challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, right. (Getty Images)
Menendez's victory over Bhalla all but ensures his re-election in November in the safe blue district, which includes parts of Newark and Jersey City.
The elder Menendez and his wife were hit with more than a dozen criminal charges related to accusations he used his position in the Senate to benefit Egypt's government and interfere in cases against three New Jersey businessmen, who were also charged.
The criminal indictments say Sen. Bob Menendez accepted bribes of cash and gold bars in exchange for aiding Cairo, a particularly damning accusation that forced him to temporarily step back from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
SEN BOB MENENDEZ MAY BLAME WIFE NADINE DURING FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL: COURT DOCS
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., had endorsed Rep. Rob Menendez. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Sires represented the 8th District after congressional maps were redrawn; he previously held the 13th District, which was also represented by Sen. Bob Menendez from 1993 until 2006, when he was elected to the Senate.
Despite his father's political baggage, Rob Menendez clinched the support of the top three House Democrats – Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass.; and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bob-menendezs-son-survives-house-primary-challenge-despite-dads-criminal-charges