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.