In 2015, Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges. The jury could not reach a verdict after more than two months of deliberation. The Justice Department dropped the charges. The Senate Ethics Committee took up the case, in April “severely admonish[ing]” Menendez and all but concluding that he should have been found guilty of federal crimes. But soon after, Menendez had taken back his post at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and earned the backing of key Democrats such as Cory Booker. His reelection campaign was underway.

Democrats often cite the supposedly corrupting influence of “money in politics” in their ongoing crusade to restrict the means of political expression by curbing independent political expenditures and other spending. Here, they’ve turned a blind eye to an old-fashioned, outright case of bribery simply because the bribed is one of their own. Menendez’s worsening numbers may have the party wishing it had drafted another candidate, but it didn’t, and it has continued to support him.