This Wednesday, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Curtis Bashaw will attend a Washington, D.C. fundraiser hosted by Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the man responsible for electing as many Republicans to the Senate this year as possible.
Also in attendance at the fundraiser on September 11 will be six other Republican senators: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Rick Scott (R-Florida), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama). The sextet ranges across the ideological spectrum of the Republican Party, including avowed moderates like Collins alongside Scott and Tuberville, who are both on the furthest-right wing of the GOP conference.
Last month, Daines called Bashaw a “very strong candidate” and said he was keeping an eye on New Jersey’s Senate election, though he didn’t include it in his top tier of races that could determine control of the Senate. Wednesday’s fundraiser with Bashaw further signals that Daines views the race as one worth investing in.
Back in New Jersey, Bashaw has campaigned as a moderate Republican, saying that he is pro-choice and pro-gay rights (Bashaw himself is gay). Most of the senators he’ll be campaigning with on Wednesday, however, come from a much more conservative wing of the party; many of them support federal legislation to limit abortion, and Budd, Scott, and Tuberville voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), Bashaw’s Democratic opponent in November, said that Bashaw’s willingness to associate himself with senators like Tuberville and Scott shows that he can’t be trusted to stand up for New Jersey.
“When it comes to reproductive rights, Curtis Bashaw can’t be trusted,” Kim said. “It’s not about what he says, it’s about who he surrounds himself with. These extreme Republicans are backing Bashaw because they know he’ll rubber stamp their agenda. New Jersey voters deserve someone who will fight for them and not an out-of-touch agenda.”
Bashaw, however, countered that working with senators from different ideological backgrounds is what it will take to be a good senator for the people of New Jersey.
“Curtis Bashaw is pro-choice. Andy Kim is pro-choice,” Bashaw campaign spokesperson Jeanette Hoffman said. “The difference is Curtis Bashaw can work with people he disagrees with. Andy Kim has never – and will never – work across the aisle. Curtis Bashaw believes bipartisanship is good, while Andy Kim votes with his party 100%.”
Kim is viewed as the substantial favorite to win the Senate seat that was held by disgraced Senator Bob Menendez until his resignation on August 20 (interim Senator George Helmy is taking office today). But Bashaw has insisted that the race is competitive, releasing an internal poll showing Kim up by a small 38%-33% margin; there hasn’t been any independent polling in recent months to get a nonpartisan read on the race.