CAPE MAY — Cape May hotelier and developer Curtis Bashaw secured the Republican Party nomination for U.S. Senate on June 4, defeating Christine Serrano Glassner with 45.6 percent of the vote to Serrano Glassner’s 38.6 percent.
A victory celebration for Bashaw was held in Congress Hall’s ballroom, which was filled with supporters and most of the members of the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners. By 9 p.m., it was clear Bashaw was leading by a healthy margin, buoying the spirits of the crowd in the historic hotel.
Bashaw will face Democrat Andy Kim and former Democrat Robert Menendez, who is now running as an independent while facing federal corruption charges.
Serrano Glassner lost despite being endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
Bashaw said he was not surprised by Trump’s endorsement of Serrano Glassner since her husband worked for Trump for a decade. He said he was proud of the endorsements he received from 14 of the state’s county GOP organizations.
After crisscrossing the state, he said he discovered voters had consternation about the U.S. having a wide-open border with Mexico.
“It’s not anti-immigration, it’s really just about having a secure border, so we know who is coming into our country,” Bashaw said.
Other areas of concerns of the public were support of law enforcement and inflation, he said.
“Whatever the administration nationally is saying about our economy being good, people don’t believe that around the kitchen table because food is so expensive,” Bashaw said.
He said corruption also was an area of concern with the Menendez trial in progress.
“People are really ready for outsiders, people with a new perspective to sort of come into politics, not career politicians,” Bashaw said.
Wind turbines are a focus of shore communities, with municipalities in the northwestern part of the state concerned with affordable housing mandates, he said, noting those issues were not just Republican issues.
“Independents are upset about the border, they’re upset about inflation, they’re upset about law enforcement support and so are some Democrats,” Bashaw said.
By 10 p.m., The Associated Press and New York Times had declared Bashaw the winner of the primary. State Sen. Mike Testa, who served as statewide chairman of Bashaw’s campaign, told the crowd to wait a little longer for vote tabulations from Morris and Bergen counties. He said the “numbers looked even better than expected.”
Cape May County GOP Chairman Michael Donohue said Bashaw did the impossible by winning a statewide primary from Cape May County. The momentum in the campaign started with a convention win from the Atlantic County Republican Organization, Donohue said.
“We rolled with an alliance of counties that came together with Ocean County and Cumberland County and all of these counties throughout the state, 14 of the 21 counties went with this guy from Cape May County,” he said.
In his victory speech, Bashaw said instead of tearing people down, he was building a bigger, better Republican Party, a party of people who “believe in freedom and more opportunities.”
“We’re going to bring people together to get things done for all of New Jersey,” he said.
Bashaw said when he set out to restore Congress Hall, he was told it was too old and falling apart and it would be wiser to build a new hotel.
“I knew what Congress Hall had been in its glory and I believed what it could be again, and that vision kept me going and I fought for it and it worked, becoming an engine for the revival of our Cape May economy, and I believe in building vibrant communities and creating jobs,” he said.
“We can’t keep sending the same old politicians to Washington and expect a better result, and New Jersey families deserve better than this one-party Democratic monopoly that has represented them for far too long in Washington,” Bashaw continued. “Tonight is the start of a real change because our state is at a crossroads.”
He said he was running against two entrenched Democratic candidates. Bashaw said some say it’s impossible for a Republican to win in a blue state.
Quoting Muhammad Ali, he said “impossible” is just a big word thrown around by small people who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
“Impossible is not a fact, it’s an opinion,” Bashaw said. “Impossible is not a declaration, it’s a dare. Let’s take that challenge on.”
He referred to Kim as a far left, Washington insider who does not represent the values of New Jersey voters.
“He doesn’t deserve a promotion to the United States Senate,” Bashaw said.