New Jersey Republican Senate candidate Curtis Bashaw has the backing of the party establishment’s most influential leaders, with the exception of former President Donald Trump.
Bashaw beat the Trump-endorsed Christine Serrano Glassner, the wife of former Trump adviser Michael Glassner, in the Republican primary. Since then, Trump has been quiet on the New Jersey Senate race, which features Bashaw against Democratic favorite, Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ).
Trump’s silence remains despite two notable recent endorsements of Bashaw from Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The support of Daines, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman, indicates the Republican establishment is behind him.
Daines and Collins, along with other Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), were reportedly present at a NRSC fundraiser for Bashaw on Sept. 11. The NRSC confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Daines is supporting Bashaw’s campaign.
Bashaw campaign spokeswoman Jeanette Hoffman said the establishment is backing him because “Curtis is the kind of Republican candidate who can make history and win in the Garden State.”
While not referencing Trump specifically, Bashaw’s campaign said it would “welcome any other individual or organization who wants to endorse him” and the candidate is focused on issues pertaining to voters.
The Trump campaign declined to comment to the Washington Examiner about whether the former president would make an endorsement.
A GOP strategist delved into Trump’s effect on Bashaw’s race in a statement to the Washington Examiner, remarking that it matters more that the candidates prove they are “worthy” of a Trump endorsement, rather than having one.
Still, Trump’s endorsement would likely consolidate Republican support in the state for Bashaw, who ran as a more moderate, anti-abortion alternative to Christine Serrano Glassner. The latter has avoided expressing support for Bashaw since her loss amid a heated primary between the two.
It’s possible that Trump has declined to endorse Bashaw because Republicans don’t often win statewide elections in New Jersey and he wants to avoid an endorsement loss. But that didn’t stop him from endorsing former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland, a heavily-blue state, who then quickly denounced his endorsement in part because he could lose support.
Bashaw’s support of Trump was often drawn into question by Christine Serrano Glassner, who called him a “coward” and said Bashaw called Trump a “threat to democracy.” Bashaw said he would vote for Trump, but demurred to the New York Post when asked about the top of the ticket.
“We’re running our race in New Jersey right now. And that’s what I have to say. I’m Curtis Bashaw, I’m running for Senate in New Jersey. I’m not Donald Trump. He’s running his race,” he said.
In another comment to the outlet, Bashaw believed his pro-Israel stance could draw support from Jewish voters who are shying away from Kim but won’t vote for Trump in the presidential election.
“We’re going to have people from the Jewish community that aren’t going to vote for Donald Trump, that will vote for Curtis Bashaw because of Andy Kim’s stance on Israel,” Bashaw told the outlet.
Bashaw’s campaign likely lost air with the decision of former Sen. Bob Menendez to pull out of the race, as he was expected to siphon some Democratic votes away from Kim if he had been able to stay in as an independent. The same could be said for President Joe Biden‘s decision to cede the Democratic nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris has boosted Senate and House candidates down-ballot after Biden slowed support.
An August poll sponsored by Bashaw’s campaign showed the Republican trailing Kim by five percentage points, 38% to 33%, with a sample of 600 likely voters. A June poll of 810 likely voters showed Kim with a 7-point lead, 41% to 34%.
While Bashaw looks to make up ground in the remaining days to the general election, he trails Kim in fundraising. Kim has more than $4 million in his campaign war chest, while Bashaw has just over $1 million. The Republican is mostly self-funded, having recently contributed a million dollars back in June to his campaign.
Bashaw and Kim will take part in three October debates, with the first coming Oct. 6, and later Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. The debates will be either candidates’s chance to differentiate themselves in the closing weeks before early voting begins on Oct. 26.
It’s ultimately unlikely Bashaw will win in New Jersey, a traditionally Democratic state that has voted for Democratic senators in every election since 1972. But if polling is correct, this year’s race will be the closest since 2000, when Democrats won the state by just 3 points.
While Bashaw doesn’t have Trump’s endorsement, he did snag another important endorsement from the State Troopers Fraternal Association, who endorsed New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy in January before she lost in the Democratic primary to Kim. The union represents more than 1,900 New Jersey State Troopers.
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Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) declined to appoint Kim to the state’s open Senate seat when Menendez resigned in August, instead appointing his former chief of staff, George Helmy. He told Semafor in August that there were “two very good candidates” running in New Jersey’s Senate race, though he said he would vote for the Democratic ticket.
Murphy has rejected speculation that he’s engaged in “sort of some middle school drama between me and Andy Kim.” But the governor’s refusal to outright endorse Kim is unusual. It is somewhat similar to Trump’s refusal to endorse Bashaw, though in drastically different contexts.
