August 24, 2008 - 10:35pm
News

New Jersey leans on Obama for Menendez speaking role

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) at Sunday night's dinner at the Inverness Hotel.: Politicker PhotoU.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) at Sunday night's dinner at the Inverness Hotel.: Politicker Photo

 

DENVER - Members of the New Jersey delegation are button-holing hard the Obama campaign to get U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Union City) a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention this week.

"You don’t understand how important this guy is," a source told PolitickerNJ.com. "When Menendez won his Senate seat, it was a full banner, front page headline in Florida."

As he entered the Inverness Hotel tonight on his way in to a kickoff dinner hosted by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) and U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn), Menendez fielded a question about whether or not he would speak at the convention.

"I don’t know," he said.

Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.