Bashaw, Kim hold steep fundraising edge in race to succeed Sen. Menendez

Hotelier Curtis Bashaw has emerged with a broad cash lead in the GOP race for the U.S. Senate, raising about $1.1 million in the first three months of the year, more than eight times what chief opponent Christine Serrano Glassner collected, new campaign finance filings show.

But on the Democratic side, Rep. Andy Kim brought in nearly $3.1 million, more than doubling the fundraising of all Republicans in the race and also dwarfing the cash hauls of his primary rivals, labor advocate Patricia Campos-Medina and activist Larry Hamm, more than 10-to-1.

The candidates are seeking to replace Sen. Bob Menendez, who is facing a trial on federal bribery charges as early as next month and is not seeking the Democratic nod for reelection this year.

New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1972, and one recent poll shows Kim leading both leading GOP candidates. But that lead is cut in half, the poll says, if Menendez is acquitted and seeks reelection in November as an independent, as he has indicated he would do.

Bashaw’s cash lead over his GOP opponents — Serrano Glassner, who is mayor of Mendham Borough, reported raising $136,773 — is not insurmountable, but with New Jersey’s June 4 primaries just seven weeks away, they are pressing, said Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics.

“It doesn’t mean that this is now the last crack,” Rasmussen said. “What it means is we are now through one more reporting period where they haven’t caught up.”

The majority of Bashaw’s fundraising came from four personal loans, totaling $600,000, that he’s made to his campaign since Feb. 5. Most of Serrano Glassner’s funds came from a $100,000 loan she extended to her campaign.

Bashaw moved into the second quarter with $824,193 banked, to Serrano Glassner’s $353,397.

Bashaw will also have an advantage on the ballot: He has the county line in 13 of the 19 counties that will use them for Republican races this June, while Serrano Glassner has the remaining six.

Kim’s primary opponents brought in little. Campos-Medina reported raising $303,754, but nearly two-thirds of that money came from a $200,000 personal loan to the campaign.

Campos-Medina has already spent much of those funds. She started the second quarter with just $44,382.

Even so, she’s better resourced than community Hamm, who raised only $13,175 in the first three months of the year.

Kim, meanwhile, spent roughly $1.6 million and entered the second quarter with $4.2 million in reserves.

Menendez still has the largest war chest of any candidate in the race. Menendez had nearly $5.7 million banked, though he spent far more than he brought in during the first three months of the year.

Menendez reported spending $600,104, with the overwhelming share — $550,000 — going toward his legal bills. The senator received just $970 in campaign contributions, but interest on his campaign accounts brought his total receipts up to $75,906.

3rd District

In the Democratic race to succeed Kim in the 3rd District, Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington) raised more than all three of his fundraising opponents combined over the three-month period, bringing in $318,63.

His rivals’ fundraising hauls were less impressive. Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D-Burlington) brought in $74,064, free speech attorney Joe Cohn raised $126,584, and business owner Sarah Schoengood took in $21,768

The fundraising figures could resolidify Conaway as the race’s frontrunner. He took that mantle after winning county lines in all three of the district’s counties but lost that advantage after a federal judge barred the use of county-line ballots in June’s Democratic primaries. Schoengood is a plaintiff in that suit.

But party organizations have still backed Conaway, and that backing may account for a part of his cash advantage.

“The party apparatus, at least on the Democratic side, they have surrendered their ballot position — they have not surrendered their ability to raise money,” Rasmussen said.

Conaway moved into the second quarter with $297,088 banked, more than twice his opponents’ combined reserves.

7th District

The two presumptive nominees in the 7th District were roughly tied in fundraising during the first quarter, though Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Kean continued to hold a broad cash lead over Democratic challenger Sue Altman.

Altman raised $583,750 in the first three months of the year, about $4,000 more than Kean brought in over the same period.

Kean, a first-term congressman, reported $294,754 in spending, beating out Altman’s $201,537, and had just under $2.4 million in reserves, more than double Altman’s $913,939 war chest.

This is a key battleground for New Jersey Republicans, who are looking to defend the seat they gained after the state adopted its new congressional map in late 2021.

The 7th was redrawn to be more Republican that year, as it stretched further into Republican-heavy counties in the state’s northwest, though the district remains competitive.

8th District

Democrats Rep. Rob Menendez and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla raised similar amounts in their fractious primary in the heavily Democratic 8th District.

Menendez edged out his challenger, bringing in $677,775 to Bhalla’s $649,077, in his quest for a second term.

The incumbent emerged from the first quarter with larger reserves, too. He had nearly $1.2 banked, while Bhalla had just under $1 million.

But the challenger outspent Menendez nearly 3-to-1 during the quarter, including $173,009 on mailers and $175,830 on fundraising emails. In total, Bhalla reported spending $572,834 during the quarter to Menendez’s $194,920.

In some ways, the contest in the 8th District is an extension of the case against Sen. Menendez, the congressman’s father. Bhalla has regularly referred to Sen. Menendez’s legal troubles while campaigning.

Still, the younger Menendez has not seen support ebb in the way his father has. The Hudson County Democratic Organization is backing him for a second term, though the scale of their influence absent the county line remains untested.