What blue wave?
For all the buzz about Democratic sweeps this fall, at least one Republican may buck the trend: Bob Hugin, the right-wing candidate running for Senate in New Jersey against incumbent Bob Menendez.
"People in New Jersey are smart," Hugin said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Despite trailing his Democratic opponent by up to 17 points at the start of the race, Hugin is now down just six points, according to a poll released by Quinnipiac University [last week](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-race-is-surprisingly-tight-in-new-jersey-bob-menendez-bob-hugin/).
Menendez has taken a hit after battling corruption charges ー his trial ended last year with a hung jury. In June, he received just 62 percent of the primary vote, despite running against a virtually unknown contender. The six-term incumbent maintains his innocence, but many in New Jersey think his political end is near.
"It's just embarrassing for New Jersey," Hugin said. "We were offended morally that this guy was going to run virtually unopposed if we didn't step in and give the people of New Jersey another choice."
Hugin is a former CEO of the drug company Celgene. He was a Trump delegate at the 2016 GOP Convention, served as finance chairman for the president's New Jersey campaign, and donated more than $100,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC. Now, the unlikely candidate in a state that's voted blue in the last seven presidential elections is trying to focus on the issues.
"It's not about party politics," he said. "It's Bob Hugin verses Bob Menendez."
Unlike many of his Republican peers, Hugin is pro-choice, supports marriage equality, and is opposed to offshore drilling.
He also disagreed with Trump's response to Sen. John McCain's death. Initially, the president posted a terse Tweet then recanted, issuing a longer-than-Tweet-length statement praising the Republican late lawmaker a full two days after his death.
"Anybody who disrespects \[McCain\] should be called to task," Hugin said.
"His memory should be revered in all of us."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/republican-bob-hugin-closes-the-gap-in-new-jersey-senate-race).
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
