Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner has won the Morris County Republican organization line, giving her a third consecutive win in her bid for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.
Serrano Glassner defeated businessman Curtis Bashaw, 279-100 (74%-26%) for the seat currently held by indicted three-term incumbent Bob Menendez.
“We have a chance because we’ve got a primary on the Democrat side, which rarely ever happens, and we have two very weak candidates and possibly a third if Menendez decides to throw his hat in the ring,” said Serrano Glassner. “We need to take this seat.”
Bashaw acknowledged he was on Serrano Glassner’s home turf, but traveled from Cape May to Parsippany to address county committee members at a hybrid in-person/virtual convention.
“ Freedom that we have is easily taken away. More government means less freedom, and we learned that in no uncertain terms during Covid, when in an instant we lost our freedom of assembly, our freedom of worship, and our freedom of enterprise. Gone,” Bashaw said. “Parental rights being threatened in this post-Covid era of this woke ideology that’s trying to tell us what to do with our kids. And we have not supported the police the way we should.”
Just Serrano Glassner and Bashaw filed to compete in Morris County. Another candidate, former News 12 reporter Alex Zdan, decided not to participate in the Morris vote.
“I want to congratulate Mayor Glassner on her hometown victory in Morris: a foregone conclusion ever since she was selected by her county chair five months ago,” Zdan said. “It’s only the bottom of the first inning in this primary. I’m spending tonight meeting with members of the party across the state. I’m not entitled to anyone’s vote, and I’ll work hard to earn voters’ trust.”
Serrano Glassner had previously won convention votes in Hunterdon and Union counties. Bashaw won a screening committee vote in Ocean County last week and now heads to the full convention.
In September, seven days after she entered the race, Serrano Glassner appeared to lock up support from her home county with endorsements from Morris County GOP Chair Laura Marie Ali, six state legislators, six county commissioners, and 21 local mayors. She also has the backing of Rep. Thomas Kean (R-Westfield), who represents part of Morris County.
Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Denville) nominated Serrano Glassner, and Carl Shotwell of Washington Township placed Bashaw’s name into nomination.
There are six other candidates in the Republican primary, including Cresskill businessman Fred Schneiderman and former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Michael Murphy.
Morris County Republicans also backed Surrogate Heather Darling and County Commissioners Deborah Smith, Steve Shaw, and John Krickus for re-election, along with Kean for Congress in the 7th district and Joseph Belnome, who is taking on Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) in the 11th. None of them faced any competition.
Democrats have not won a countywide race in Morris since 1973, but Joe Biden carried the red county four years ago. Smith suggested that her team isn’t taking the general election for granted.
“The fact that we do not have a challenge in this convention is wonderful,” she said. “And why is it wonderful? Because we have a hard time coming in November.”