The reinvention of Bob Hugin: Amid anger over drug prices, a former pharma CEO makes a run for the Senate
RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Among the 30,000 attendees of the Rutherford Street Fair, sweating it out on the street between the zeppoles and deep-fried Oreos, was the pharmaceutical millionaire who wants to be their next senator.
Bob Hugin, the former CEO of Celgene, spent Labor Day walking through the crowd with a phalanx of staff and volunteers, each with a sign and a T-shirt bearing his name. They chanted, cheered, and sloganeered as Hugin’s would-be constituents looked on, varyingly bemused or befuddled at the merry little militia demonstrating in their town. Hugin shook hands, posed for photos, and remembered to say “good to see you” but never “nice to meet you.”
This is his life now. In February, the 64-year-old left behind the air-conditioned conference halls, sycophantic analysts, and princely pay packages that come with being a Fortune 500 CEO. He branded himself “a different kind of Republican,” set aside $20 million of his own money, and became the GOP’s only hope to unseat the incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez.
“To be honest with you, I wouldn’t be running if it wasn’t for him, because he’s wrong for New Jersey, and he’s
