Curtis Bashaw scored his first organization line on Saturday, winning the Atlantic County Republican convention by a wide margin over former News 12 New Jersey reporter Alex Zdan.
Bashaw defeated Zdan, 953-265, a 78%-22% victory.
A third major contender, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, did not appear at the convention, and no one stood up to nominate her.
A Cape May real estate developer and hotelier, Bashaw is the first regional favorite in South Jersey. He has won the recommendation of the Ocean County GOP screening committee, but must still go through their convention to get the coveted line in the state’s number one Republican county.
Serrano Glassner has won conventions in Hunterdon, Union, and Morris counties.
Atlantic County Clerk Joe Girolo, who nominated Bashaw, slammed Serrano Glassner for not showing up.
“Christine Serrano Glassner’s campaign continues to inundate GOP County Committee members with a barrage of negative text messages disparaging Curtis Bashaw and other Republicans, yet she can’t even bother to show up for the Atlantic County Republican Convention this morning or even have someone stand up on her behalf,” Girolo said. “Apparently, she doesn’t care about South Jersey or the Atlantic County Republican Committee members who gave up their Saturday morning to exercise their important responsibility to vote for candidates to represent our Republican Party.
Girolo said that Bashaw has “shown up for every Republican County Convention because he believes every County Committee member deserves the respect to hear each candidate’s vision.”
“Curtis also knows he will need to work with all Republicans to win the general election, not just the Counties in which he wins the conventions. That’s why Curtis is the best candidate to unite all Republicans to win in November, and why he won the Atlantic County Republican Convention in a landslide,” said Girolo. “Ms. Serrano Glassner should spend more time talking to South Jersey Republicans and less time on personal, negative attacks.”
The other eight candidates did not compete.
Bashaw has longtime ties in Atlantic County as a former executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. While withholding a formal endorsement until the convention was over, Atlantic County GOP Chairman Donald Purdy was supporting Bashaw.
Atlantic County Republicans unanimously endorsed Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) for re-election to a fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.