Senate Seat Showdowns

New Jersey CBS NEWS PROJECTS BOB MENENDEZWINNER Democrat Bob Menendez (Incumbent) vs. Republican Tom Kean, Jr. CBS News Race Outlook: Jon Corzine was elected Governor and appointed Menendez to fill his Senate seat in January 2006. Kean is tried to paint Menendez as the poster-boy for corruption and machine-style politics, including making a film accusing Menendez of "being wrapped up in the rackets for 30 years." According to The New York Times, Kean’s chief campaign consultant had said the film would be "very similar" in purpose to the commercials used to attack the military record of John Kerry during the 2004 presidential race. Menendez accused Kean and his aides of running an unfairly negative campaign. Menendez seized on issues that play well in New Jersey – port security, gas prices, stem cell research, and the Iraq war. New Jersey voters last elected a Republican senator in 1972.