New Jersey GOP Senate Primary Results: Curtis Bashaw Victory

Cape May County hotelier and developer Curtis Bashaw won Wednesday’s New Jersey Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Bashaw, who won by a wide margin over Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, will face Democratic Rep. Andy Kim in the November election. Sen. Bob Menendez, who is on trial in New York on corruption charges, filed paperwork on Monday to run as an independent candidate in the general election.

Bashaw, 64, campaigned on criticizing Democrats over inflation and border security, and notably refrained for several months of his campaign from endorsing former President Donald Trump, who supported Serrano Glassner.

Still, Bashaw failed to fully embrace the former president, unlike his main rival, whom Trump supports, Serrano Glassner. Instead, he leveraged powerful establishment support at the county level.

Bashaw’s victory was a victory for the more moderate wing of his party, even as the GOP across the country continues to support pro-MAGA candidates.

State Sen. Michael Testa (R, Cumberland), who is Bashaw’s campaign chairman, said Menendez’s presence in the race could work to Bashaw’s advantage.

“I think he could be a real key to the Democratic machine,” Testa said.

Bashaw, a political novice, launched his campaign in January. “Before I took part in the race, they told me it couldn’t be done,” he said behind schedule Tuesday evening, declaring victory. “I think it’s time for a political outsider who can deliver results.”

His notable achievements include the renovation of Cape May’s historic Congress Hall Hotel, and during his campaign he leaned heavily on his reputation as an entrepreneur and political outsider.

“Whatever the Biden administration wants to say about macroeconomic indicators is not being heard at the kitchen tables or in the warehouses of our small businesses,” Bashaw told The Inquirer in May. “There is a pressure point on inflation that demoralizes people.”

While Serrano Glassner gained Trump’s approval and a powerful reputation among his staunchest supporters, Bashaw gained key support by reaching out to GOP officials in the county.

“They said we couldn’t win the primary against the odds and with very strong support, but we did it and we did it together,” Bashaw told supporters Tuesday night.

Bashaw entered Tuesday’s election with the support of 13 of the 21 parties in New Jersey County compared to six that supported Serrano Glassner.

“County line,” New Jersey’s unique electoral system that gives county-backed candidates a prominent slot in the primary, likely helped Bashaw win.

While Democrats eschewed the county-by-county system this year after Kim successfully challenged it in court, Republicans have kept the system in place.

Testa said he didn’t see the result of the referendum on Trump.

He said Serrano Glassner’s campaign “failed to portray Bashaw as a Trump opponent.” He said Bashaw supports Trump and his policies.

“We will have to run against two deeply entrenched Democratic policies,” Bashaw said. “Andy Kim is not a moderate. He’s a far left DC insider. Andy Kim does not represent our values.”