On November 5, either Democratic Congressman Andrew (Andy) Kim or Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw will be elected by New Jersey to represent a seat in the United States Senate for the next 6 years. Here’s what you need to know about each candidate, and how this election will affect New Jerseyans.
Andy Kim is a current Democratic congressman representing New Jersey’s third congressional district, in central NJ. He’s been a representative in Congress since 2019, and his policy positions align with more liberal values. During his time in Congress, he’s prioritized strengthening healthcare, taking action against climate change, and promoting small businesses and creating jobs, among other mainstream positions coming from Democrats. All of his policy positions can be found at https://www.andykim.com/about/.
Facing off against Kim is Curtis Bashaw, a hotel entrepreneur and preservationist. Over the past few years, he has helped small businesses recover from COVID and has grown his own hotel company called Cape Resorts which operates in New Jersey and New York. His values align more with conservatives, and the issues that matter the most to him are strengthening the United States on the global stage, securing our borders and taking action against illegal immigration in New Jersey, and, contrary to most Republicans, is passionate about maintaining a clean environment. If elected, he would also be the first openly gay Republican Senator in the history of the U.S. All of his policy positions can be found at https://curtisbashawforsenate.com/meet-curtis/.
Something that differentiates this Senate race from past ones in New Jersey is the indictment of former Democratic Senator Bob Menendez. Throughout 2023 and 2024, he was found guilty of bribery and acting as a foreign agent for the government of Egypt. This caused him to resign his seat in the Senate in August of 2024. Menendez’ corruption has been an obstacle for Andy Kim, who shares the same party. Kim has taken an aggressive approach in making voters know that he isn’t like Menendez, by calling him corrupt and promising to be a voice for all Americans, not just himself.
A pivotal moment in the election process happened on October 6, during a debate between the two candidates. According to Newsweek, while Bashaw was mid-sentence, he appeared to freeze, and looked like he was going to fall over or pass out. Kim then came over to him and asked if he was okay, before the debate was paused for 10 minutes as Bashaw got something to eat and drink. “He was on the campaign trail all day and didn’t get a chance to eat. He stepped offstage and had a protein bar and some Coke and came back to debate five minutes later,” a spokesperson for Bashaw said. The debate then continued on as normal.
According to OpenSecrets, a website that tracks campaign financing, as of October 16, the last report made available to us by each campaign, Kim’s campaign has raised over $11.5 million, compared to Bashaw’s over $3.97 million.
Mr. Jacobsen, a social studies teacher at WMC, said that the issues facing New Jersey voters the most this year were “safety, security, and the economy. The economy is the biggest issue facing New Jerseyans right now,” Mr. Jacobsen said. As New Jersey tends to vote for liberals in elections, he added that “it doesn’t seem like the Republican Party is putting a lot of attention on New Jersey, and is instead putting their money in other places.” This is true, as both parties have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Senate races in Ohio, Montana, and Texas, for example.
Another social studies teacher, Mr. Hildreth, said some of the most important traits a Senator should have are to “represent all of the state, not just the area where you may have grown up or lived or worked. I think you have to be able to relate to a variety of people, and voters also particularly want honesty, and they want somebody that they think is relatable.” Currently in the United States, there are no term limits for how long Senators can serve, but Mr. Hildreth thinks there should be. “It’s a good idea to not have these lifelong politicians that get very comfortable with their jobs. I think that our representatives should constantly have to be mindful of the people and that they’re answering to the people.”
As elections are nearing all around the country, stay informed and educated on the candidates that are running for office.
