Gloucester County Republicans have awarded their county organizational line to U.S. Senate candidate Curtis Bashaw, giving Bashaw yet another South Jersey line in the competitive primary for indicted Senator Bob Menendez’s seat.
The line was decided by the county organization’s screening committee, which “overwhelmingly recommended” Bashaw, a hotelier and developer from Cape May. Gloucester makes up around 4% of the statewide Republican electorate.
“Whether from his time as a small business owner or with the NJ First Legislative District Economic Development Task Force or any of the numerous boards on which he has served, Curtis Bashaw understands the issues facing South Jersey and will be a strong advocate for its residents,” Gloucester GOP Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante said in a statement.
Bashaw now has seven county party endorsements for his Senate campaign, five of which are from South Jersey counties. Gloucester Republicans don’t always go along with other South Jersey Republican organizations in competitive primaries, though, so it was not a given that Bashaw would win the line there.
Bashaw faces a wide range of opponents for the Republican Senate nomination, two of whom, Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner and former News12 reporter Alex Zdan, have won county organizational lines of their own. Also running are businessman Fred Schneiderman, former Tabernacle Committeeman Justin Michael Murphy, U.S. Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, Brian Jackson, Michael Estrada, and Steve Boston.
For the 1st congressional district, the Gloucester GOP screening committee awarded their county line to former Collingswood school board member Claire Gustafson. Gustafson is seeking to take on Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), to whom she lost 62%-35% in 2022 and 62%-38% in 2020.
“Claire Gustafson has proved herself to be an excellent candidate, always supporting the entire ticket and working tirelessly to promote the Republican Party,” Vigilante said. “Her experience on the school board and local planning and zoning board demonstrates her willingness to do the yeoman’s work and to lead by example. The committee was very impressed with her knowledge of the issues that plague the district and her plans to address them.”
The endorsement sets up a county-versus-county primary against Teddy Liddell, a U.S. Army veteran who has the Camden GOP line for the same district. In the 2022 Republican primary for the 1st district, Camden County cast 59% of the GOP vote, while Gloucester County cast 37%.
Two other candidates, Damon Galdo and Nick Whitelock, are also competing for the 1st district. The district is considered safely Democratic, so whoever wins the Republican primary will face an extremely uphill battle against Norcross in the fall.