Republican Curtis Bashaw is up on the air with a new broadcast and cable TV ad touting his independent streak, his business credentials as a job creator, and his non-traditional GOP bid as a “pro-choice married gay man” as he seeks an upset in the race for New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seat.
In “Think,” Bashaw narrates his own ad, pledging to support lower taxes, secure the border, and support a woman’s right to obtain an abortion. He also uses the 30-second ad to contrast himself with his Democratic opponent, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), saying that Kim’s record of voting with House Democrats 99% of the time.
“In New Jersey, we think for ourselves. Our Senator should too,” Bashaw says.
The Bashaw campaign said they spend six figures on the ad buy.
Script: “I’m Curtis Bashaw, The Outsider running for Senate. I built my New Jersey hotel business to over a thousand jobs. I’m for cutting taxes and securing the Border. But I’m not your typical Republican. I’m a pro-choice married gay man. Andy Kim votes 99% with DC Democrats. I’ll break with both parties to serve our state. In New Jersey, we think for ourselves. Our Senator should too. I’m Curtis Bashaw, and I approve this message.”
Bashaw, a hotelier from Cape May and a first time candidate, is seeking to break the second-longest losing streak for Republicans in the nation: the GOP hasn’t won a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey since 1972, with only Hawaii going longer.
But five of the last eleven men elected to U.S. Senate seats in New Jersey had never held public office before. If he wins, Bashaw would become the first openly gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Katey Sabo, Kim’s spokesperson, accused Bashaw of being “exactly the kind of Republican politician that New Jersey voters simply can’t trust.”
“He’s in lockstep with Donald Trump, supports the Dobbs decision that stripped reproductive freedoms from women, and would ensure a divisive extremist Republican majority in the Senate,” she said. “He can spend his vast fortune to try to dupe voters, but they’ll see right through it and reject him on Election Day.”