UNION CITY – In campaign reelection mode, the friends of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) packed seats and bleachers with district students at the local high school to augment the crust of Democratic establishment players at the front of the room.

The idea was evidently to present the unquestionable appearance of overwhelming force in this, the Hudson County town where Menendez grew up in a tenement just blocks from here.

The event had the added political benefit of unifying a badly fractured kingdom – at least for a few hours – with those countywide players who detest each other manning up to fold into the fealty of Menendez. It brought the likes of Senator Brian P. Stack (D-33) and Senator Nick Sacco (D-32) together in close encounters proximity, and nudged Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop into a nose-width of Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise.

No punches were thrown. That was an obvious take away.

Bulked by the presence of Governor Phil Murphy and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who introduced him, Menendez focused on the young people.

“Something feels different this time,” said New Jersey’s senior senator.

It’s the students’ reaction to the Parkland killings and the mass murders that changed the game, he said, to cheers.

He localized it.

“I always say that if you want to know who I am, then you need to know where I came from,” Menendez said. “This is the city where my family raised me. The school where my teachers shaped me. The community that inspired me to fight for what I believe in – hard work and equal rights and opportunity for all.”

Running for reelection while carrying the narrative of having survived a corruption trial, Menendez fingered two obvious targets as he prepares for a likely showdown with retired big pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin: President Donald J. Trump, and corporate power.

“He spends his time dividing us and distracting us but never delivering for us,” Menendez said of the President.

Instead of taking action, Trump sounds National Rifle Association (NRA) talking points.

“I’m proud to have an ‘F’ from the NRA,” declared the incumbent, who leads Hugin by 17 points (49-32%), according to a Quinnipiac University Poll earlier this month.

Then he zeroed in on the CEOs of 350 major corporations, who today make 270 more than the average American. Fifty years ago, CEOs made 50 times more.

“We have lost our way and when we lose our way, many people get left behind,” said Menendez, kick-starting his likely campaign season attack Hugin.

Many allies accompanied him this morning in the gym of Union City High School, home to the Soaring Eagles, among them Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8), U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6), U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9), Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, Newark Councilmen Anibal Ramos, Jr. and Luis Quintana, and many more.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage.

Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco.

Every Hudson mayor, showed, in fact.

Essex County Freeholder Brendan Gill attended.

State Senator Joe Cryan (D-20) showed. So did Democratic State Party Chairman John Currie, Bergen County Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato and Somerset County Democratic Chair Peg Schaffer.

Powerful Essex County Democratic Chairman Leroy Jones mingled at the front of the room.

Senator M. Teresa Ruiz (D-29) emceed the event.

“I feel the energy,” she said.

Rob Menendez, Jr. also gave a plug to his dad.

“Union City is where my grandparents searched for freedom and opportunity,” he said. “We have a president who, when he closes his eyes, he sees Norway I see something closer to Union City.”

The crowd erupted.

Booker, too, pumped up the young audience when he introduced Menendez.

“We are in the midst of a storm,” the junior senator said. “We see the storm coming right now from Washington. The Bob Menendez… will help us stand up against the storm. I know the character of this man.”

He eluded to the troubles Menendez had with his corruption trial, which hung up a jury last year, prompting the feds to later dismiss the case against him.

“You know, a lion, when he’s down – you better be careful when he stands up,” Booker said.

Menendez said in gratitude, “I look forward to being at your campaign kickoff for whatever office that is going to be.”

The crowd cheered the allusion to a 2020 Booker prez run.

Republicans jeered from afar.

“New Jersey’s over 5 million registered voters will finally have a chance to render their verdict on Senator Bob Menendez’s record,” said NJ GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt. “He’s a career politician who has spent more time staying one step ahead of the law than he has in step with his New Jersey constituents. We need a U.S. Senator who will use his influence to change New Jersey’s abysmal distinction as the 50th State out of 50 for sending more federal tax dollars out of State than it gets back in federal benefits, rather than using that influence to help his friends and donors bilk taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare funds.”

Chairman Steinhardt added, “Public polling suggests that a jury of Senator Menendez’s constituents aren’t so sure about his close relationship and dealing with his self-proclaimed best friend and convicted felon Solomon Melgen. The man who showered Menendez with vacations, gifts and campaign contributions defrauded seniors and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for it, yet Menendez still stands by his side. A recent Rutgers poll showed a majority of New Jersey wanted a new Senator and a recent Quinnipiac poll showed Menendez’s favorability rating is upside down among independent voters in the state. We have a real shot at putting a qualified Republican in that Senate seat.”

Republicans put an exclamation point on their displeasure with a video unveiled by the campaign for Hugin, who has vowed to chuck $40 million at Menendez.