Kim, Bashaw Face Off At New Jersey Senate Debate: 2024 Election

NUTLEY, NJ — Andy Kim and Curtis Bashaw faced off in their first debate for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey on Sunday, tackling issues such as abortion, immigration and the cost of living. Watch the debate here.

Kim, the Democratic Party nominee, currently represents the state’s 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bashaw, a hotel developer from South Jersey, earned the Republican Party nod. They are among six candidates running to replace Bob Menendez in New Jersey, who resigned in August after his bribery conviction.

Four independent and third-party candidates will also appear on the ballot: Christina Khalil (Green Party), Kenneth Kaplan (Libertarian Party), Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party), and Patricia Mooneyham (Independent). They were not invited to participate in the debate.

Sunday’s political faceoff included a moment of surprise – and momentary concern – when Bashaw appeared to have trouble standing and abruptly stopped talking in the middle of a response.

When Kim asked Bashaw if he was OK, the GOP candidate replied “yeah.” He was helped off the stage and left the room for about 10 minutes before returning to finish the debate.

“I got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn’t eaten so much food today,” Bashaw said, writing the incident off as a casualty of his hectic campaign schedule.

Although they disagreed over several points, Kim and Bashaw found common ground over the need to take action on crime, gun control, rising student loan debt and health care. Other topics at the debate included:

ABORTION – Both candidates support abortion rights, although Bashaw also said that he supports the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended Roe v. Wade. Bashaw – a married gay man who has received an endorsement from the Log Cabin Republicans – identified himself as a “pro-choice” candidate who believes the government shouldn’t be able to “tell me who I can marry.” Meanwhile, Kim blasted an “extremist agenda” that he said is eroding Constitutional rights, adding that “a woman has a right to choose and make a determination about her own body and her own family.”

IMMIGRATION – Both candidates said the nation’s immigration system is experiencing a “crisis.” Kim – whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea – criticized “hate rhetoric” and “xenophobia” surrounding the current debate on immigration in Congress, and blamed Republicans for stalling a bipartisan border bill. Meanwhile, Bashaw said it is “terrible to demonize any group,” adding that he is in favor of “legal and orderly” immigration in the U.S. – albeit with better border security.

COST OF LIVING – Both candidates said more needs to be done to boost middle class households, with Kim arguing that wealthy corporations should pay their “fair share” of taxes, and Bashaw pitching more control over federal spending. Kim pointed to a rising cost of living and a racial wealth gap in New Jersey, spotlighting his own efforts to improve housing affordability and raise the minimum wage. Bashaw said he would improve opportunities for small businesses, adding that he “understands the importance of a living wage.”

Both candidates claimed to have “won” the debate after it was over.

Bashaw pointed to Kim’s “disastrous voting record on the border, inflation, and foreign policy,” and criticized his replies to questions about how to reduce inflation and how to secure the nation’s borders.

“New Jersey needs a political outsider and a job creator who can bring change to the Garden State,” Bashaw said. “Andy Kim showed tonight that he’s a political insider who will continue with his failed policies of a broken economy, chaos at the border and weak foreign policy.”

Kim said the debate proves that he is the “only candidate with the necessary readiness needed to step into the Senate and get to work to restore reproductive rights, lower health care costs, and improve the lives of New Jersey families.”

“This November is more than just who New Jersey voters want representing them in the Senate,” the congressman said. “It’s about who New Jersey families trust to protect their kids and grandkids from gun violence in school, who they trust to make sure seniors can afford life-saving medicine, and who they trust to fight to bring back crucial rights for the women and girls of this country.”

Two more debates between Kim and Bashaw will take place on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. The general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Gov. Phil Murphy recently appointed George Helmy, his former chief of staff, as Menendez’s interim replacement in the U.S. Senate until the winner of the general election is certified on Nov. 27. See Related: Murphy Picks Temp Replacement For Bob Menendez In New Jersey

QUALIFYING FOR THE DEBATE

One of the candidates who wasn’t invited to Sunday’s debate – Patricia Mooneyham – questioned the criteria that led to the exclusion of four candidates who will also be appearing on the ballot for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

“There are more unaffiliated voters in New Jersey than registered Republicans,” Mooneyham wrote, claiming that the debate “deprived New Jersey voters of hearing from all the candidates.”

The traditional inclusion of only Democrat and Republican candidates in Congressional debates has seen growing opposition in the Garden State in recent elections.

Earlier this year, two candidates who ran in the Democratic Party primary election – Lawrence Hamm and Patricia Campos-Medina – cried foul after they were left out of a debate, which only included Kim and first lady Tammy Murphy, who has since dropped out of the race.

To qualify for that debate, candidates were required to meet a $750,000 fundraising threshold and a public endorsement by Democratic elected officials and municipal/county party chairs from at least five municipalities; or 10 percent of the vote at the Feb. 10 Monmouth County Democratic convention.

When Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, took on his Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli in 2021, the Libertarian and Green Party candidates each made similar protests when they were excluded from a series of gubernatorial debates because they didn’t meet the fundraising threshold of $490,000.

• See Related: 'Big Money' Rules NJ Governor Debates, Third-Party Candidates Say
• See Related: NJ Gov Candidate: $490K Debate Fundraising Quota Is A 'Travesty'

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