Former Gov. Chris Christie is quietly supporting Curtis Bashaw for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and has become increasingly defensive of criticisms leveled at him by another candidate, Christine Serrano Glassner, a supporter of Donald Trump.
Multiple sources, all speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said Christie became angered this week over an email from Serrano Glassner political director Ethan Adams saying that “conservatives cannot trust Curtis Bashaw” – partly because he supported Christie for president.
“Bashaw funded Chris Christie’s anti-Trump presidential campaign,” Adams said. The Cape May real estate developer contributed $3,300 to the Christie campaign, while Serrano Glassner endorsed Trump.
The Serrano Glassner campaign said in its recent email to Republican county committee members that Bashaw “has a clear history of opposing President Trump.”
In 2016, Bashaw backed Libertarian Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, over Trump. Four years later, Bashaw backed a letter that called Trump “a real threat to democracy.”
While Christie has not made a public endorsement in the Senate race, Republicans still in touch with the former governor confirmed that he favors Bashaw and has a direct line of communication in his campaign.
The Bashaw campaign would not comment on Christie’s involvement.
“Curtis Bashaw continues to receive a tremendous amount of support from up and down the state,” said his spokesperson, Jeanette Hoffman. “We expect him to receive more support as the campaign continues. Curtis is interested in uniting the party and bringing everyone together to win in November.”
Despite Serrano Glassner’s criticism, some solidly pro-Trump counties, particularly in South Jersey, are expected to back Bashaw for Senate.
Bashaw is the favorite to win the Atlantic County GOP convention on Saturday, and he won a vote of the Ocean County GOP screening committee last week.
Christie has never had a close relationship with Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham Borough; Christie lives next door in Mendham Township.
While governor, Christie personally rejected an application by Glassner’s husband, Michael, to serve as chief operating officer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Michael Glassner was a top advisor to Trump while Christie was still seeking the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
Christie remains hugely unpopular with New Jersey Republicans: a 2023 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll had the former governor at 3% in a GOP presidential primary poll, losing to Trump in a head-to-head contest by an 82%-12% margin. The poll put Christie’s favorables among New Jersey Republicans at an underwater 18%-55%.