New Jersey

Meet Curtis Bashaw — the gay, pro-choice Republican running for Senate in NJ

Published

2 years ago

September 21, 2024

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.

Source link

Click to comment

New Jersey

NJ fines Sen. Wimberly $24K after use of donations for hotels, airfare

Published

4 hours ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

NJ fines Sen. Wimberly K after use of donations for hotels, airfare

2-minute read

PATERSON — In a three-month span at the end of 2022, state Sen. Benjie Wimberly, then an assemblyman, spent more than $7,200 in political donations on hotel bills, airfare and other travel expenses.

Now, Wimberly has been fined about $24,000 by New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, partly for spending campaign funds on his own personal use.

The ELEC complaint against Wimberly had been pending since December 2024, and a settlement between the state and the senator was reached at the end of May 2026. ELEC made details of the deal public on July 1.

“Senator Wimberly chose to settle the matter with ELEC because his priority is addressing the immediate and important needs of his district,” said his attorney, Angelo Genova, a prominent and well-connected lawyer in New Jersey political circles.

Story continues below photo gallery.

“As expressly stated in the Consent Order and Final Decision, Senator Wimberly and his treasurer neither admit nor deny the violations, and they maintain their good-faith belief that the disputed expenditures were permissible under the law,” Genova added.

Wimberly’s campaign treasurer, David Cozart, works as an assistant superintendent for Paterson Public Schools, with a $213,000 salary. Wimberly also works for the city school district as director of recreation, with a $194,000 salary.

The commission determined that 19 of Wimberly’s expenditures at the end of 2022, when he was still an Assembly member, were for impermissible uses. The order said $10,861 of the fine stemmed from Wimberly’s improper use of political funds. The rest of the penalty was for late filing of a finance report that covered October through December of 2022.

Among the expenditures highlighted by ELEC were:

$645 to the Hilton Garden Inn Lodge Colonial on Oct. 11, 2022.
$751 to the Embassy Suites Hampton on Oct. 25, 2022.
$497 to the Landing at Hampton on Nov. 8, 2022.
$322 to the Hilton Garden Inn on Dec. 6, 2022.
$378 to the Omni Hotels on Dec. 14, 2022.

The ELEC complaint did not provide specific locations of those businesses.

Partial payment of $4,000 in April

The order said Wimberly and Cozart made a partial payment of $4,000 in April 2026. The election commission also reduced the penalty, lowering it to $15,335.

Going forward, Cozart and Wimberly would make four payments of $3,833.99 through April 2027, the order said.

Wimberly supporters noted that the original complaint filed against him came at the end of 2024, when he was still an Assembly member making a bid for the vacant New Jersey 35th District Senate seat left vacant when Nellie Pou went to Congress.

Wimberly sought the Senate seat even though several Passaic County Democratic party leaders were backing then-Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter for the Senate. After the initial tally ended in a tie, Wimberly won the internal party election by one vote over Sumter.

Source link

New Jersey

Heat wave to bring near 100 degree weather. When does NJ heat wave start

Published

17 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

Heat wave to bring near 100 degree weather. When does NJ heat wave start

Last week wasn’t a great one when it comes to weather at the Jersey Shore.

This one will be much better, at least if you like heat.

A heat wave will hit New Jersey this week with hot weather moving into the area on Tuesday. The warm temperatures will stick around for most of the week before we get a little relief by the end of the weekend.

The National Weather Service forecasts the heat wave to start July 14 with a sunny day with highs around 92 degrees. Wednesday is even hotter with temperatures expected to flirt with 100 degrees. Thursday stays hot with a high of 92 degrees forecasted, with Friday and Saturday also expected to see highs in the low 80s.

According to the NOAA, Wednesday the Jersey Shore area will be under an extreme heat watch.

Tuesday through Friday are expected to be sunny, with some clouds. Saturday is when showers roll in.

Sunday the heatwave is expected to break. Showers are also expected to stick around with a high of 84 degrees expected.

Source link

New Jersey

New NJ businesses include non-alcoholic liquor store, art school

Published

1 day ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

New NJ businesses include non-alcoholic liquor store, art school

2-minute read

The Record, NorthJersey.com, the Daily Record and the New Jersey Herald want to keep you up to date on all the newest shops, restaurants and service providers moving into your towns. Below is a roundup of businesses that recently opened or are coming soon.

Are you opening a business in North Jersey? Get the word out to your neighbors as soon as possible. Send us your information and photos and we will try to add them to our next new-business roundup.

We’re also interested in reporting business closings. Have a tip? Contact Business Reporter Daniel Munoz at munozd@northjersey.com, or 201-270-9870, and Stephanie Noda at noda@northjersey.com, or 973-558-0950.

Story continues below photo gallery