The GOP Candidate Eyeing New Jersey's Senate Seat Faces a Common Issue: Donald Trump
Curtis Bashaw, who previously opposed Donald Trump, has now declared his support for the former president in his bid to succeed Sen. Bob Menendez.
TroibNews 
When Curtis Bashaw, a New Jersey hotelier, announced his Senate candidacy in January, he had not previously donated to Donald Trump and instead supported Chris Christie’s efforts against Trump in the presidential race. However, just three months later, Bashaw endorsed Trump and met him at a rally in South Jersey, even as Trump backed Bashaw’s Republican primary opponent, a loyalist to the MAGA movement, at the same event.
Currently, Bashaw is trying to distance himself from Trump while aiming to be the first New Jersey Republican to win a Senate seat in 50 years. His shifting stance reflects the difficulties faced by Republicans in blue states as they attempt to appeal to both the MAGA base and moderate voters. This has become a recurring challenge for the GOP since Trump's rise, evident in competitive congressional races across the country. Candidates find themselves needing Trump's backing to succeed in the general election but are hesitant to fully embrace him.
“Each one of us as citizens has a binary choice in our elections and our vote. I think people struggle with their choices at the top of the ticket each year,” Bashaw stated in a phone interview. “I don’t think we can have four more years of the same. That’s why I’m doing that.”
On paper, Bashaw seems to fit the profile of a candidate who could help Republicans secure a Senate victory in New Jersey for the first time since 1972. He is a wealthy, openly gay married man whose businesses provide jobs for over 1,000 people. With a history of bipartisan donations and a close association with former Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey—who appointed him as executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority as he prepared to come out—Bashaw possesses notable credentials.
However, Trump has become a politically divisive figure in New Jersey, where his rhetoric and policies have transformed many traditionally Republican suburbs into Democratic strongholds. Bashaw now finds himself caught between the need to appeal to the Republican base without alienating the broader New Jersey electorate.
“Bashaw’s only play here is to try to win over independents and moderate Democrats, and you can’t do that if you’re seen to be in bed with Donald Trump,” explained Dan Cassino, director of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s poll.
Bashaw faces significant challenges in his bid against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim to take the seat vacated by the convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez. He trails in public polling and fundraising, despite contributing $2 million of his own funds to the campaign, and is contending for a seat that hasn’t been held by a Republican since the Nixon era.
Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who is his Republican primary opponent and whose husband was COO of Trump's 2020 campaign, has not endorsed Bashaw and has privately criticized him. She declined to comment. Despite an early independent poll suggesting a somewhat closer-than-expected 9-point gap between Kim and Bashaw, national Republican support has been minimal aside from a $35,000 contribution from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Republican prospects dimmed further when Menendez, facing prison time for corruption, decided not to run for reelection as an independent, a move that could have attracted some Democrats from his stronghold in Hudson County.
While Kim has not actively engaged with Bashaw, he sought to undermine his rival's moderate claims during a debate by highlighting his support for Trump. “We’ve seen three justices put on the Supreme Court from Donald Trump. We’ve seen the Supreme Court take the most extremist turns, certainly in my lifetime, and something that is going against so many of the fundamental beliefs that people in New Jersey hold,” Kim remarked. “So I am worried about Mr. Bashaw’s ability to make decisions about Supreme Court justices, as we’ve seen him make a decision about who should be the next president.”
Bashaw identifies as "pro-choice" yet supports the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed many states to implement strict abortion bans. He stated he would pursue a bipartisan federal bill to “protect a woman’s right to choose in all 50 states.” In an interview, Kim accused Bashaw of being “an opportunist” regarding abortion rights, noting that during the Republican primary, he emphasized his support for the Dobbs decision, only to pivot afterwards to advocate for federal legislation.
In spite of his attempts to distance himself from Trump, Bashaw's primary campaign focus mirrors that of Trump’s platform: undocumented immigration. “I think New Jerseyans are really, truly freaked out about the open border. When I realized it’s 894,000 illegals living in our state centered in five counties,” Bashaw said. “Why wouldn’t you lock your back door at night?”
Bashaw also aims to position himself as a “common sense voice in D.C. that’s as a political outsider and a business perspective” and advocates for repealing the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction, a policy enacted by Trump. He critiqued Kim for supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and acting as a “rubber stamp” for Democrats.
Bashaw rebuffed the notion that he had criticized Trump by sharing a letter in Harper’s that labeled the former president a “threat to democracy." Instead, he expressed concern about the “erosion of liberal values” in academia.
Bashaw has characterized his campaign as a “sleeper race” and anticipates national Republican support will arrive “as things shake out in the marquee races.”
However, Kim challenged Bashaw’s claims of moderate governance while simultaneously backing Trump. “We’ve seen other Republicans say they’re not willing to vote for Donald Trump, including some Senate candidates,” Kim said, referencing Larry Hogan’s campaign in Maryland. “Sure, he might have some more moderate viewpoints than some of his Republican colleagues, but he’s going to support a Republican majority leader,” Kim added. “That’s going to prevent any type of federal legislation when it comes to codifying abortion rights. It’s going to push in extreme ways. It’s going to work with potential president Donald Trump to move things in that direction.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
Currently, Bashaw is trying to distance himself from Trump while aiming to be the first New Jersey Republican to win a Senate seat in 50 years. His shifting stance reflects the difficulties faced by Republicans in blue states as they attempt to appeal to both the MAGA base and moderate voters. This has become a recurring challenge for the GOP since Trump's rise, evident in competitive congressional races across the country. Candidates find themselves needing Trump's backing to succeed in the general election but are hesitant to fully embrace him.
“Each one of us as citizens has a binary choice in our elections and our vote. I think people struggle with their choices at the top of the ticket each year,” Bashaw stated in a phone interview. “I don’t think we can have four more years of the same. That’s why I’m doing that.”
On paper, Bashaw seems to fit the profile of a candidate who could help Republicans secure a Senate victory in New Jersey for the first time since 1972. He is a wealthy, openly gay married man whose businesses provide jobs for over 1,000 people. With a history of bipartisan donations and a close association with former Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey—who appointed him as executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority as he prepared to come out—Bashaw possesses notable credentials.
However, Trump has become a politically divisive figure in New Jersey, where his rhetoric and policies have transformed many traditionally Republican suburbs into Democratic strongholds. Bashaw now finds himself caught between the need to appeal to the Republican base without alienating the broader New Jersey electorate.
“Bashaw’s only play here is to try to win over independents and moderate Democrats, and you can’t do that if you’re seen to be in bed with Donald Trump,” explained Dan Cassino, director of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s poll.
Bashaw faces significant challenges in his bid against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim to take the seat vacated by the convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez. He trails in public polling and fundraising, despite contributing $2 million of his own funds to the campaign, and is contending for a seat that hasn’t been held by a Republican since the Nixon era.
Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who is his Republican primary opponent and whose husband was COO of Trump's 2020 campaign, has not endorsed Bashaw and has privately criticized him. She declined to comment. Despite an early independent poll suggesting a somewhat closer-than-expected 9-point gap between Kim and Bashaw, national Republican support has been minimal aside from a $35,000 contribution from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Republican prospects dimmed further when Menendez, facing prison time for corruption, decided not to run for reelection as an independent, a move that could have attracted some Democrats from his stronghold in Hudson County.
While Kim has not actively engaged with Bashaw, he sought to undermine his rival's moderate claims during a debate by highlighting his support for Trump. “We’ve seen three justices put on the Supreme Court from Donald Trump. We’ve seen the Supreme Court take the most extremist turns, certainly in my lifetime, and something that is going against so many of the fundamental beliefs that people in New Jersey hold,” Kim remarked. “So I am worried about Mr. Bashaw’s ability to make decisions about Supreme Court justices, as we’ve seen him make a decision about who should be the next president.”
Bashaw identifies as "pro-choice" yet supports the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed many states to implement strict abortion bans. He stated he would pursue a bipartisan federal bill to “protect a woman’s right to choose in all 50 states.” In an interview, Kim accused Bashaw of being “an opportunist” regarding abortion rights, noting that during the Republican primary, he emphasized his support for the Dobbs decision, only to pivot afterwards to advocate for federal legislation.
In spite of his attempts to distance himself from Trump, Bashaw's primary campaign focus mirrors that of Trump’s platform: undocumented immigration. “I think New Jerseyans are really, truly freaked out about the open border. When I realized it’s 894,000 illegals living in our state centered in five counties,” Bashaw said. “Why wouldn’t you lock your back door at night?”
Bashaw also aims to position himself as a “common sense voice in D.C. that’s as a political outsider and a business perspective” and advocates for repealing the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction, a policy enacted by Trump. He critiqued Kim for supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and acting as a “rubber stamp” for Democrats.
Bashaw rebuffed the notion that he had criticized Trump by sharing a letter in Harper’s that labeled the former president a “threat to democracy." Instead, he expressed concern about the “erosion of liberal values” in academia.
Bashaw has characterized his campaign as a “sleeper race” and anticipates national Republican support will arrive “as things shake out in the marquee races.”
However, Kim challenged Bashaw’s claims of moderate governance while simultaneously backing Trump. “We’ve seen other Republicans say they’re not willing to vote for Donald Trump, including some Senate candidates,” Kim said, referencing Larry Hogan’s campaign in Maryland. “Sure, he might have some more moderate viewpoints than some of his Republican colleagues, but he’s going to support a Republican majority leader,” Kim added. “That’s going to prevent any type of federal legislation when it comes to codifying abortion rights. It’s going to push in extreme ways. It’s going to work with potential president Donald Trump to move things in that direction.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
