Accused Senator Bob Menendez will run for re-election as an independent

Senator Bob Menendez is still fighting.

A worried senator from New Jersey plans to file papers run a long-term campaign as an independent candidate in the November Senate race, A source with knowledge of the plans told The Inquirer.

The filing comes a day before the state’s primary election, while Menendez remains on trial in Manhattan on federal fraud and bribery charges.

Submitting signatures opens the way to running, but Menendez has until mid-August to withdraw from the November election. The criminal trial, which could see Menendez spend years in prison if convicted, is expected to last until the end of June.

Even if Menendez is acquitted, the chances of him remaining in the Senate are slim given the low level of support, calls from most of his Senate colleagues to resign and the years of scandal that have surrounded him. Menendez, a three-term incumbent, is a Democrat but chose not to run in the Democratic primary this year because of the lawsuit.

“He’s a very proud man, and it’s possible that his withdrawal could be interpreted as him running away from the fight,” said Senate historian and former Senate staffer Ross Baker. “On the other hand, his chances are not very good and another argument should be presented that instead of experiencing electoral humiliation, he will simply not run.”

Republican Andy Kim is expected to win Tuesday’s Democratic primary, defeating two lesser-known Democratic candidates. The race began with a tight battle between Kim and the state’s first lady, Tammy Murphy, who withdrew in March. Curtis Bashaw and Christine Serrano-Glassner are vying for the GOP Senate nomination in New Jersey, which hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1954.

” READ MORE: From gold bars to an exorbitant car: all the bribes Senator Bob Menendez has been accused of taking over the years