New Jersey
Meet Curtis Bashaw — the gay, pro-choice Republican running for Senate in NJ
A gay, pro-choice Republican is hoping voters who support Israel will send him to Congress in disgraced Sen. Bob Menendez’ former Senate seat.
Should Curtis Bashaw pull off the upset in November against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who has a history of anti-Israel positions and votes, he would become the first Republican since 1982 to hold the New Jersey seat.
“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, 64, said.
In April, Kim, 42, called for an immediate ceasefire that would allow Hamas to remain in power.
A month later, Kim voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would have bolstered protections for Jewish college students. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly but has stalled in the Senate, where Leader Chuck Schumer has refused to hold a vote on it.
The hotelier expects to pick up Jewish Democrats in the state who wouldn’t normally back a Republican.
“Israel is the front line of a war on terror right now, and we need to make sure we stand with our ally and don’t negotiate with the terrorists there. Bob Menendez was stronger on Israel than Andy Kim. People are very concerned about [Kim’s] progressive agenda,” he said.
“I actually think there’s a real path to victory,” Bashaw told The Post during an interview this week. “New Jerseyans are craving change.”
In April, a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey had Bashaw nine points behind Kim, but by August Bashaw’s own internal surveys found him to be just five points off.
Bashaw, a hotel developer whose company restored and owns the historic Congress Hall in Cape May, called his opponent “further to the left than any Democratic Senate candidate we’ve ever had in our state’s history.
“He has only worked for the federal government. He’s a bureaucrat and an academic liberal that wants to tell us what to do, but he has no experience making an economy grow,” Bashaw said.
Bashaw also cites the ongoing border crisis as an issue which will help his Congressional bid. Like New York, New Jersey has also faced a flood of migrants which has wreaked havoc across the Garden State.
“They’re coming into communities — the poorer communities — taking already scarce and expensive housing. They’re getting driver’s licenses without identification,” Bashaw said.
Republicans have been making gains in the mostly liberal state, which GOP Gov. Chris Christie famously led between 2010 and 2018. In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli came within four points of beating Democrat Phil Murphy.
Kim sits on a more than $4 million war chest, while Bashaw’s current cash on hand is just over $1 million, Federal Election Commission records show. More than half of Bashaw’s funds came from his own pocket in the form of $1.8 million in loans.
“I’ve put skin in the game,” said Bashaw said, who declined to say how much more he was prepared to spend in the home stretch.
A debate between the candidates is scheduled for Oct. 6.
Bashaw pledged to vote for Republican presidential nominee Trump, who lost New Jersey in 2020 by 16 points, but demurred 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.
Bashaw also highlighted his disagreements with the former president and his party more broadly, promising to support federal abortion protections.
“I would vote for a bipartisan law that enshrined a woman’s right to choose legislatively,” he said. “I’m not a rubber stamp for anybody.”
Reps for Kim did not respond to request for comment from The Post.
New Jersey
Light snow forecast expands to nearly half of N.J. after rain, high winds today
A cool, damp day is in store for New Jersey with rain during the day and northwestern areas of the state getting a dusting of snow at night, forecasters say.
Rain totals have been dialed back but Thursday’s moisture is “still a generous and much needed precipitation event,” especially for North Jersey, the National Weather Service said in its morning forecast discussion.
“The signal remains clear that the heaviest rain will fall across our northern zones with considerably less to the south, but overall, forecast precipitation has diminished slightly.”
By the time the last of the moisture pushes away from the state on Friday night, precipitation amounts will range from 1.5-2 inches in northwestern regions to a tenth to quarter inch in southern New Jersey. Central portions of the state should wind up with a half-inch to an inch of rain.
Overall, the rain will help New Jersey’s drought, but won’t come close to alleviating it.
“The drought is much too extensive and too significant to be resolved by one storm,” AccuWeather.com said.
The other story Thursday will be gusty winds that could reach as high as 25 mph inland and 40 mph along the Jersey Shore.
Rain will be mainly light, though heavier showers are possible at times, according to the weather service’s New York office, which covers Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties.
High temperatures will top out in the low 50s around mid-afternoon.
Rain will change to light snow tonight in northern New Jersey with less than an inch expected in general. Hilly areas in Sussex and parts of Passaic counties could see slightly higher totals. Lows will be in the 30s.
Some scattered light rain is expected Friday before it tapers off at night from west to east, according to forecasters. It’ll be a chilly, breezy day with highs only in the 40s before temps dip into the 30s overnight.
Dry weather returns for the weekend with mostly sunny conditions and highs in the low 50s both days. The forecast is the almost the same for Monday and Tuesday, though temps will be slightly warmer.
Current weather radar
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
New Jersey
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New Jersey
Tolls to rise again on NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway in 2025
Attention drivers using New Jersey roads, tolls are about to go up again on two major highways next year.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority approved a 2025 budget that includes a three percent increase to tolls on the turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.
According to a spokesperson with the authority, the annual Turnpike toll will go up by 16 cents. Some examples include:
- From Interchange 4 to Interchange 7A to go up by 10 cents
- From Interstate 95 through Interchange 6 to the Newark airport (Interchange 13A) will go up by 30 cents
- To travel south from Interchange 4 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge will go up 13 cents
Officials said that the tolls at the main plazas on the Parkway will go up by eight cents. Some of those include:
- Cape May
- Great Egg
- Sommers Point
Meanwhile, tolls at Parkway ramp plazas will go up by just three cents.
The increase goes into effect for both roads on Jan. 1.
This is the fourth increase since the Turnpike Authority board approved annual toll hikes back in 2020.
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