Curtis Bashaw, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, is intent on proving that no matter how blue the Garden State may appear to be, he can make this year’s race for disgraced Senator Bob Menendez’s seat competitive. Do national Republicans believe him?
Senator Steve Daines, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), said today that he views Bashaw as “a very strong candidate” and that he intends to keep watch on the New Jersey race as it develops this fall. But Daines did not commit to spending any money on the race, nor did he list it as one of the NRSC’s top priorities.
“It’s a race we’re keeping an eye on,” Daines said. “Obviously when you have an open seat, it’s an opportunity. With Menendez’s problems, that doesn’t help overall for the Dems.”
Daines also issued an official endorsement today of Bashaw, saying that the South Jersey developer and hotelier “has the experience necessary to restore integrity and common sense in Washington.” The endorsement comes just under two months after New Jersey’s GOP primary, which Bashaw won against a Donald Trump-backed candidate.
Asked whether he believes that primary win against Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner risks fracturing the Republican Party, which is united behind Trump’s third presidential bid, Daines said no.
“By the time you get to the general election, [Republicans] will come back together,” he said.
The 2024 race for New Jersey’s Senate seat has taken a number of twists and turns, beginning with Menendez’s indictment on federal corruption charges last fall. Menendez was abandoned by his fellow Democrats and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) eventually won the Democratic primary to succeed him, but Menendez filed to run for re-election as an independent instead, threatening to split the Democratic vote and give Republicans an opening.
Menendez’s guilty verdict earlier this month, however, makes a formidable independent campaign unlikely – especially since he’s said he’ll resign from the Senate effective August 20. Without Menendez on the ballot, the task of cobbling together a winning coalition in such a Democratic-leaning state becomes harder for Bashaw.
The two major Republican independent expenditure groups, the NRSC and the Senate Leadership Fund, do not seem to have reserved any airtime in New Jersey, though that could change before November. Bashaw is personally wealthy and will have enough money to run a serious campaign, but the lack of outside investment is a clear signal that national Republicans are focusing elsewhere.
Daines, though, said that if an opportunity does present itself in New Jersey, Bashaw is the right candidate to take advantage of it.
“Bashaw’s been working hard, and I think he’s probably got the right message there in New Jersey as a Republican to make that race competitive,” he said.