The race for his seat has become unexpectedly close. Hugin has dug deep into his pocket to hammer Mr. His most recent ad focuses on the most salacious details stemming from allegations against Mr. Menendez during his last re-election campaign: that he and his friend, Dr.
Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida doctor, frequently hired underage prostitutes while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. But it has never been proven. It came from an anonymous tipster whose identity has never been publicly revealed.
And it was not included in a page indictment on federal corruption charges brought against the two men, which culminated in a trial last year that ended in a hung jury.
Menendez has vehemently denied the allegations. During an initial investigation, two women who had told The Daily Caller, a conservative website, in a video that Mr. Menendez had paid them for sex while in the Dominican Republic later recanted their allegations, claiming they had been paid to make the accusations.
Yet a new ad from Mr. Hugin repeats the allegations as uncontested facts. While the federal government charged in a court document during Mr. The tipster first reached out to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning legal watchdog group.
