Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is facing heavy pressure from Democratic and Republican colleagues to resign following a sprawling indictment that alleges the New Jersey Democrat accepted bribes and leveraged his position to engage in corruption.

As the calls for him to resign get louder, Menendez has remained defiant, denying the indictment’s allegations and saying in a statement he is “not going anywhere.” Menendez’s resistance motivated Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., to mount a primary challenge against him.

“After calls to resign, Senator Menendez said ‘I am not going anywhere.’ As a result, I feel compelled to run against him,” Kim said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, announcing his Senate bid. “Not something I expected to do, but (New Jersey) deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our integrity.”

» Subscribe to USA TODAY: http://bit.ly/1xa3XAh
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.