Curtis Bashaw made an unsuccessful play last week to pressure Christine Serrano Glassner to get out of the U.S. Senate race last week, but Republicans who support his campaign were unwilling to back his efforts.
“We have probably exhausted our behind-the-scenes diplomacy to persuade Christine Serrano Glassner to end her campaign in the interests of unity,” said Cape May County Republican Chairman Michael Donohue in an email sent to county chairs backing Bashaw obtained by the New Jersey Globe. “Many of our friends have been trying very hard, and there is still a chance, but the campaign believes we have to make a public push.”
Donohue had sent a sample press release he hoped would state that two-thirds of Republican county chairs and several state legislators were calling on Serrano Glassner to drop out of the race “to enhance New Jersey Republicans’ prospects to beat the Democrat U. S. Senate candidate.”
“I am reaching out to all of the ‘Curtis Chairs’ and it would be most effective if we have all of us on the release,” Donohue said. “We are also rounding up as many legislators as we can in the ‘Curtis Counties’ to join us in this effort.”
But several county chairs declined to sign on to the statement, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed, and the Bashaw campaign was unable to secure in time to claim all of the organization slogans by 4 PM last Thursday.
Bashaw has been trying to clear the field for himself to preserve his money for a general election campaign.
In the past, Republicans had derided Democratic party leaders for similar efforts to clear the field and unite behind a single candidate.
Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham, has secured party support in seven counties and doesn’t appear interested in leaving the race to allow Bashaw, a first-time candidate with a history of not supporting Donald Trump, to coast through the GOP primary.
Serrano Glassner’s campaign declined to comment at this time.
