Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez is running for re-election as an independent

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., filed for re-election to the Senate as an independent on Monday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his plans.

NBC News previously reported that the three-term senator had gathered enough signatures to run as an independent for another term in the Senate as he faces trial on federal corruption charges. His filing comes a day before the state’s deadline for independent candidates and allows him to collect fewer signatures. and always access the ballot; the deadline to run as a Democrat has long passed.

The New Jersey Globe first reported that Menendez planned to file a lawsuit Monday. In the end, he submitted just over 2,000 signatures, a source told NBC News.

Menendez’s decision to run for office also allows him to continue raising and spending campaign funds to pay legal fees in the ongoing corruption trial. Menendez has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.

Menendez’s candidacy also comes on the eve of the state’s primary, where Rep. Andy Kim is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for his seat. Kim previously warned that a Menendez run as an independent could put the deep blue state in play in November.

Kim filed his candidacy in March with around 6,000 signatures. He posted on .

Also Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez, the senator’s son, faces a competitive race in the 8th District against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

A pro-Bhalla outside group called America’s Promise PAC launched a television ad linking Rob Menendez to his father’s trial, with a narrator saying, “They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “No wonder Rob Menendez is defending his father’s corruption,” later adding that the congressman is “rotten to the core.” (Rob Menendez has not been accused of any impropriety.)