Morning Digest: Bob Menendez won’t be on tonight’s primary ballot, but he may in November

_{The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.}

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Leading Off

● NJ-Sen: On Monday, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez filed for reelection as an independent after previously declining to run in Tuesday's Democratic primary following his indictment on corruption charges last September. But the Garden State will host several other competitive nominating contests on Tuesday night—including one that features the senator's son, Rep. Rob Menendez—which Jeff Singer previews in a detailed rundown.

The elder Menendez submitted 2,465 voter signatures, 800 of which must be valid. However, the New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein reports that Menendez "has no campaign staff and is managing his own race," which complicates matters for him since his ongoing trial is expected to last into July, according to NBC. What the incumbent might do if convicted is unclear, but the deadline for independents to withdraw is Aug. 16.