An openly gay candidate could give New Jersey its first Republican U.S. Senator since 1972.
In June, hotel owner Curtis Bashaw easily defeated Trump-backed candidate Christine Serrano Glassner, 48% to 37%, in the Republican primary.
Glassner, the Mendham Borough Mayor, was also backed by a litany of high-profile Republicans, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Rep Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson.
With embattled Sen. Bob Menendez now running as an Independent, the prospects of Republicans taking a Senate seat in deep blue new Jersey is now a possibility. An April poll gave Democrat challenger Rep. Andy Kim a 47%-38% advantage in a head-to-head matchup against Bashaw, but it decreased to 44%-38% with Menendez included.
Like the GOP’s Senate candidate in Maryland Larry Hogan, Bashaw is pro-choice and has been slow to win the endorsement of Trump. From Bashaw’s point of view, he understands the loyalty Trump had since Glassner is the wife of former Trump advisor Michael Glassner.
"I wasn’t daunted by his endorsement of our opponent, because her husband’s worked for him for a long time, [he’s] expressing loyalty as I would, to an employee," Bashaw said to the Washington Examiner this week. Trump eventually endorsed Hogan, a longtime Trump critic, but has yet to endorse Bashaw.
Bashaw, a self-made millionaire from a chain of hotels in Cape May, N.J., likes the contrast he brings to the three-way race.
"It’s sort of like a political boss in Menendez, more of a bureaucrat in Andy Kim, and a business guy in Curtis Bashaw," he said. "I’ll take that contrast all day long."
Following his victory, Bashaw told the outlet that some of Glassner’s people "have jumped in with us" and that he can see the momentum gaining.
"You’re going to see Republicans more united than we’ve been in a long, long time," he said