NJ-08: Ali (D) raises $183k for challenge to Menendez (D)
Mussab Ali, a former Jersey City Board of Education president waging an uphill Democratic primary battle against incumbent Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), has raised more than $183,000 since entering the race in January, his campaign announced today.
Ali is almost certainly the best-funded primary challenger to a New Jersey incumbent this year, but he also starts out at a substantial financial disadvantage compared to Menendez, who is seeking a third term representing the 8th district in urban North Jersey. As of the end of 2025, Menendez had raised more than $900,000 and had just over $700,000 still on-hand.
As Ali noted today, though, some of that funding has come from corporate PACs, funding that Ali has sworn off for his own campaign. Ali has also made an issue of donations earmarked through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a Menendez ally that has recently attracted quite a bit of controversy in Democratic primaries.
Two years ago, the contest between Menendez and then-Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla attracted an enormous amount of money, with both candidates raising and spending more than $2 million over the course of the cycle. Several outside groups allied with both candidates also took an interest in the race, adding millions more to the spending total.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/ali-raises-183k-for-challenge-to-menendez/