Passaic County Republicans will support Curtis Bashaw for U.S. Senate, picking up an organization line that had previously gone to Alex Zdan.
Zdan, a former News 12 New Jersey reporter, is expected to withdraw from the Senate race today. Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that he began calling supporters on Sunday evening to inform them of his decision, including Passaic GOP leaders.
This morning, Passaic County Republican Chairman Peter Murphy, in consultation with some executive board members, awarded the line to Bashaw.
Zdan also had the line in Monmouth after defeating Bashaw at their county convention on the second ballot. Bashaw is considered the likely recipient of the Monmouth line in his primary fight with Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner.
There are others in the GOP Senate race as well, although it won’t be clear until 4 PM who actually filed. But the contest will be between Bashaw and Serrano Glassner in the Republican primary, with the winner likely facing Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) in the general election.
Last week, indicted Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez said he might still run for a fourth term as an independent.
A real estate developer and hotelier, Bashaw has scored organization endorsements in Atlantic, Ocean, Cumberland, Somerset, Camden, Mercer, Gloucester, Middlesex, Cape May, Burlington, Salem, and Essex. Serrano Glassner has county party endorsements in Hunterdon, Union, Morris, Warren, Bergen, and Sussex.
The last Republican to win a Senate seat was Clifford P. Case, who was re-elected in 1972. Since then, 48 other states have elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate; only Hawaii has gone longer.