Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla to challenge Rep. Rob Menendez for House seat

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced that he is running for Congress, looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez — the son of indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, who is facing a federal bribery investigation.

On Wednesday, Bhalla said that his decision to run comes down to "giving people a choice" in who they want representing them in Washington.

"I think we’re at an inflection point in this country and I think we have a great track record of success in Hoboken in terms of finding solutions. We want to bring that to Washington," said Bhalla.

The mayor, a Democrat, said he will be campaigning on issues like affordability, rising interest rates and the climate crisis.

Several prominent Democrats in Hudson County are supporting the incumbent congressman. In a statement, Menendez said he welcomes Bhalla's challenge, but added "it seems the only reason Ravi has entered the race after endorsing me in 2022 and publicly applauding our work this year is because a week after losing control of the city council, he sees no political future for himself in Hoboken."

Bhalla disputed Menendez's claims, saying he has a "great relationship" with the city council.

"That statement doesn’t have any credibility. I’m focused on running a positive campaign — it sounds like the congressman is not," said Bhalla, who said he has "working professional relationship" with Menendez, which he expected to continue.

The challenge for the junior Menendez comes as his father faces challenges of his own, both in court and on the campaign trail. Bob Menendez and his wife were indicted in September on federal charges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion. Prosecutors allege that the state's senior senator used his political clout to illegally assist the Egyptian government, several patrons and other allies, in exchange for lavish gifts of gold, cash and a luxury car.

Aside from his court battles, Menendez faces a challenge for his Senate seat from Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, as she launched a primary campaign in November.

Dozens of members of Congress in both parties have called on Menendez to resign in the wake of the charges. But Menendez has refused those calls, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and has not ruled out a bid for reelection in 2024.

One day after the charges against Menendez went public, Rep. Andy Kim announced his entrance into the senate race.

"Not something I expected to do, but N.J. deserves better," Kim wrote in an X post launching his campaign.

So far, Kim is leading the field with roughly 40% of voter support, according to initial polling. Murphy was next with 21% and Menendez with 5%. Larry Hamm, a progressive activist who founded the People's Organization for Progress, also filed to run for the seat in September.

CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.