Kyrillos said it was fair to blame the country's economic problems on Menendez because they have happened on his watch and nothing is changing.
"There's no new formula, there's no new plan," he said in brief remarks to reporters before he slipped into the crowd of about 150 people waiting to greet him.
If it sounded as if Kyrillos had pulled his speech straight from the Republican playbook, Menendez responded in kind with an oft-heard Democratic theme, that the GOP is coddling the rich at the expense of middle-class families.
Menendez's campaign also went after Kyrillos on social and other issues important to Democratic voters.
"Sen. Kyrillos voted against making taxes fairer for the middle class and supported unfair tax cuts for millionaires," Brad Lawrence, an adviser to Menendez, said in a statement, referencing Kyrillos' vote against the so-called millionaire's tax. "Sen. Kyrillos has cozied up to the extremists who oppose investing in stem cell research, would deny a woman's right to choose and resist commonsense gun safety laws."
It's early in the race, but pundits so far are betting on Menendez.
He was leading Kyrillos, 43 percent to 31 percent, according to a January poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University, which also noted that Menendez would be helped by the presence of President Obama on the top of the ticket. Obama won the state by nearly 16 percentage points in 2008.
The Cook Political Report listed Menendez's race as "solid Democrat" in a report issued last week. The race is "not considered competitive" and "not likely to become closely contested," it said.
