(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Republican candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey appeared to suffer a medical episode during the senatorial debate with his Democratic opponent.
Curtis Bashaw, a Republican seeking to become New Jersey’s next senator after Bob Menendez’s resignation, seemed visibly shaken and struggled to articulate his thoughts as he delivered remarks during the Sunday debate with Democrat Andy Kim.
“We need to make sure that we are dealing with affordability in a sensible way,” Bashaw said before abruptly trailing off while gasping for air. He nearly lost his balance and leaned heavily on his podium for support.
Kim took notice of Bashaw’s distress and rushed to assist him, asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” the Republican candidate replied, his voice shaky and his legs trembling. The debate host intervened, sending the live stream to a commercial break.
After the break, the debate resumed, with Bashaw explaining that the episode occurred because he had not eaten all day.
After the episode, he assured his followers on X that he was doing well.
“Thank you all for the well wishes! I was out campaigning all day, and I never stopped to get a bite to eat. Excited to eat pizza with my fantastic volunteers at the post-debate party tonight,” he wrote.
In a separate post, Bashaw shared a photo of his campaign team posing with a pizza box.
Bashaw and Kim are vying to replace Menendez, who resigned from the Senate in August after being convicted on multiple federal corruption charges.
Current polls show Kim leading Bashaw by five percentage points. New Jersey has not had a GOP senator since 1982.
Bashaw is a gay and pro-choice hotel businessman credited with the landmark restorations of Congress Hall and the Virginia Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey.
He defeated Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, a Trump-endorsed candidate, in the primary.
Kim has represented New Jersey’s Third Congressional District in Congress since 2019.
