Polls out this week show a very tight race between New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and Republican opponent Bob Hugin.

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vox Populi Communications and Stockton University all have the incumbent leading by single digits among likely voters — five, four and two points respectively.

But there's one place support for the senator seems to remains strong: his hometown.

One would be hard-pressed to hear anything but Spanish along the streets of Union City. The restaurants, beauty parlors and auto shops all reflect the city's makeup, which is almost 85 percent Latino.

So it's not surprising that many locals are still fond of Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants and former Union City mayor.

"He's been a great representative for Latinos," said Dora Naranjo, a Colombian immigrant. "Of course I'm with him."

The senator's reputation took a hit after being indicted on 14 counts of federal corruption, even though the case ended in a mistral last year and prosecutors chose not to retry Menendez in January.

But people like 57-year-old Luz Franco remain undeterred. 

"You might have seen a scandal here and there, but at the end of the day nothing was proven, so you can't really know," Franco said. "And we identify with him as Hispanics." 

Others, like 79-year-old Elio Diaz, believe the accusations, but will most likely still vote for Menendez Nov. 6.

"He must have done something, or else he wouldn't have been accused," Diaz said. "All politicians make mistakes. But he's done a good job."

And another point in favor of Menendez is likely voters like Diaz don't even know Hugin's name. 

The diverse and heavily democratic Hudson County is key for Menendez. Unlike other recent polls, a Quinnipiac University poll out Wednesday has Menendez ahead by 11 points.

Women and people of color are responsible for the lead. Among white voters, however, the likely vote is split 49 to 48 percent in favor of Hugin.