Ads draw stark contrast between Senator’s record & Hugin
New Brunswick, NJ – The Menendez for Senate Campaign today released a pair of new television ads highlighting Bob Menendez’s record fighting for the issues New Jerseyans care about, while his Republican opponent has not. One ad, entitled “Stopped,” focuses on the Senator’s efforts to protect Social Security and Medicare, while his opponent, greedy drug company CEO Bob Hugin, paid $280 million to settle charges he defrauded Medicare and ripped off cancer patients and taxpayers. The other, entitled “Court” touts Bob Menendez’s opposition to Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda, including appointing a Supreme Court justice who would threaten to overturn Roe v. Wade, strip health care coverage from millions of Americans, erode protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, and roll back women’s, LGBTQ, worker, voter and civil rights, while Hugin campaigns on his support for Trump’s nominees.
“New Jerseyans have a clear choice in this election: a proven fighter in Bob Menendez who has always stood up for the issues that matter most to them, or Bob Hugin, a Trump-Christie Republican who will never be on our side,” said Menendez for Senate Communications Director Steve Sandberg. “Bob Menendez has a long record of fighting for the middle class, for women, for seniors, for the disabled, for underprivileged and underserved communities, to expand access to affordable health care, to invest in infrastructure and the technologies of tomorrow, to protect our environment, to make college more affordable, and to improve the lives of every New Jerseyan. That is what Bob Menendez has fought for and will continue to fight for. His opponent, greedy, drug company CEO Bob Hugin, made a fortune ripping off cancer patients, allegedly defrauded Medicare and American taxpayers, discriminated against women and LGBTQ students at Princeton, and will just be another vote for Trump’s dangerous agenda.”
TRANSCRIPT:
Announcer: Bob Hugin’s company was sued for Medicare fraud—ripping off taxpayers and patients—and settled for $280 million.
Bob Menendez stopped Republicans slashing Social Security and Medicare.
Bob Menendez: I’m Bob Menendez and I approve this message, because it’s never mattered more.
TRANSCRIPT:
Announcer: Bob Hugin said he’ll vote for all of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees.
Bob Menendez stood up to Trump every step of the way, including Trump’s Supreme Court nominees.
Bob Menendez: I’m Bob Menendez and I approve this message, because it’s never mattered more.
According to the federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, New Jersey, 27 other states and the District of Columbia, Hugin and Celgene not just misled doctors and patients about their drugs’ effectiveness and potentially fatal side effects, but also defrauded Medicare, promoted two of its most successful drugs off-label for uses not approved by the FDA, and orchestrated a kickback scheme in which physicians were paid to prescribe the drugs. After five years dragging through the courts, Celgene agreed to pay $280 million to settle the case only after Bob Hugin gave a videotaped, sworn deposition, and then had the record sealed.
Bob Hugin donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help elect Donald Trump, served as his New Jersey finance chair and delegate at the RNC and held a post on Trump’s transition team. He has said he would have voted for Neil Gorsuch and indicated early on his support for Brett Kavanaugh, both of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court picks. According to a report by NJ Globe, “Hugin is now touting his support of Trump in an effort to get targeted Republican households to vote-by-mail (VBM) as [his campaign] seek[s] to increase turnout in GOP counties for the midterm elections.” Hugin campaign literature and flyers reportedly sent to registered Republicans say he “will work with President Trump” and “vote to confirm Supreme Court nominees.”
In contrast, Bob Menendez voted against Gorsuch and said he would oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination as he did in 2006 when Kavanaugh was nominated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senator has opposed Trump’s tax plan that capped state and local tax (SALT) deductions and Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and undermine both Medicare and Social Security.
###