Republican Senate candidates hope Menendez charges can end party’s 52-year losing streak

A wide field of New Jersey Republicans are eyeing Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat, hoping the incumbent’s corruption indictment and a fracas over party leaders’ roles in the Democratic primary could reverse a losing streak that’s run for more than half a century.

At the top of the GOP contest are hotelier Curtis Bashaw, Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, and former News12 reporter Alex Zdan.

The GOP candidates have sought to leverage some Democrats’ discontent with First Lady Tammy Murphy’s senatorial bid, believing it could help Republicans secure a victory that has eluded them since 1972.

“Between the Menendez corruption and the implication of a Murphy candidacy, it just made me feel like there was a real opportunity for alternatives,” said Bashaw. 

Serrano Glassner, who declined to be interviewed for this article, has said the first lady’s candidacy highlights cronyism, and Zdan echoed those sentiments, calling the governor’s support for the first lady’s campaign “ultimate hubris” and suggesting he ought to resign if he wished to support her bid.

“Bob Menendez is cartoonishly corrupt. Nepotism is also a form of corruption. We need to send a message loud and clear that the state’s not going to tolerate corruption anymore,” Zdan said.

Menendez, who faces charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent, has denied wrongdoing and has not yet said whether he will seek reelection. The indictments have cratered the incumbent’s approval ratings, and his trial won’t begin until at least early May, roughly a month after the deadline for candidates to file their nominating petitions with the state.

Though Menendez is not yet on the ballot, attacks over his legal troubles could still mar Democrats’ image, said Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan University’s Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship, adding such damage could prove key amid deep partisanship. 

“If the Republicans are able to tag the Democrats as corrupt, even if they’re only citing Bob Menendez — and virtually every Democrat has called for him to resign, step down, or have otherwise distanced themselves from our senator — it’s all part of building or breaking down the party brand,” Dworkin said.

Former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy and former independent Assembly candidate Michael Estrada are also seeking the GOP nod.

The race’s top candidates have lent some early focus to immigration, an issue national Republicans have singled out ahead of November, when President Biden is seeking reelection and former President Donald Trump will likely be his challenger.

Earlier this month, Serrano Glassner condemned an immigration proposal negotiated and then rejected by U.S. Senate Republicans. Zdan launched his campaign with a two-minute spot that showed migrants crossing the border through a hole in the country’s border fence.

“That was the thing that solidified and crystallized my decision to run for U.S. Senate, seeing the conditions down at the border,” he said.

Bashaw echoed those comments, noting he believes there is room for bipartisan action on immigration, despite Republicans’ recent rejection of the same.

Despite their policy agreements, the race has already seen some intra-party mudslinging.

Serrano Glassner has accused Bashaw of having a liberal streak, citing campaign contributions he’s made to Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Donald Norcross, and, in 2021, Sen. Joe Manchin. In response, Bashaw noted most of his political giving went to Republicans and cautioned negativity wouldn’t help Republicans win in November.

“I think our voters are tired of it. People are taking potshots at people in ways that make the voters feel disenfranchised and cynical. And it’s, I think, important for us to have a tone that’s talking about the future,” he said.

Serrano Glassner, an early entry into the contest, has secured organizational lines that will lend her preferential ballot positions in Union and Hunterdon counties. She’s expected to secure Morris County’s line as well, though there are early signs that Ocean County, the state’s largest source of Republican primary votes, could break against her. Ocean County Republicans’ screening committee this week backed Bashaw for the organizational line. The committee’s endorsement is not ironclad, and a full county committee vote will determine who gets the line.

Bashaw also has endorsements from party chairs in Cumberland and Cape May counties. Sen. Michael Testa, Cumberland County’s Republican chairman, is also chairman of Bashaw’s campaign.

Zdan, who launched his candidacy only last week, said he would compete for the remaining organizational lines.

Due to the timing of the other candidates’ campaign launches, Serrano Glassner is the only Republican to report fundraising in the contest so far. She reported raising $266,533, though most of that money, $200,000, came from a personal loan to her campaign. Bashaw said he’d pledged $500,000 of his own funds to his bid.

The Republican victor is likely to face First Lady Tammy Murphy or Rep. Andy Kim in the general election, though at least one GOP candidate said it didn’t matter much who Democrats put forth.

“Throw James K. Polk in there,” Zdan said. “I’ll beat him too.”