Bashaw and Kim Talk Business, Global Politics at NJBIA Candidates Forum 

With 20 days left before New Jersey voters elect their next U.S. Senator, Republican Curtis Bashaw and Democrat Andy Kim answered questions from businesspeople on topics ranging from innovation to Israel at a candidates forum hosted by NJBIA on Wednesday. 

Kim, 42, of Moorestown, is a former diplomat and currently a three-term congressman from New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District in Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth counties. Bashaw, 63, of Cape May, is a successful hotel entrepreneur and real estate developer, making his first bid for elected office.  

Both men, who made separate presentations to the 50 businesspeople at the NJBIA event in Trenton, are vying on Nov. 5 for the U.S. Senate formerly held by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who resigned in August after his conviction on federal corruption charges.  

Bashaw is the founder and managing partner of Cape Resorts, which has hotels, restaurants, retail outlets and over 1,000 employees. He emphasized that business experience and told the crowd he embraced his role as the underdog running on a GOP ticket in a state where voters have not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1972.  

“I’m a businessman and a political outsider. I believe we need more of that in Washington to get things done for us,” Bashaw said. Noting that New Jersey is a “donor” state that contributes more federal tax dollars than it receives in federal aid, he said he would work to change that dynamic if elected to the U. S. Senate. 

“We’ve had a Democratic monopoly on his seat in the U.S. Senate for 50 years in New Jersey and I just have this theory we should try something new and see what we can do better for our state,” Bashaw said. He said states whose two U.S. senators are from different political parties “do better in what they get back from the federal government.” 

Kim emphasized his bipartisan bona fides, noting his public service in both the Bush and Obama administrations and the fact that he is a Democrat elected to Congress in a district that voted for Republican President Donald Trump twice. He noted he has worked across party lines on healthcare and affordability issues and would continue to do so to make the U.S. more globally competitive in AI, innovation, technology, and supply chain resilience. 

“When it comes to the many challenges of global competitiveness, or even for us to just sustain growth here at home, one of the biggest things that is holding us back from that potential is the fact of just how divided we are as a country,” Kim said. “I’m hopeful that we can move past this toxicity that we see in our politics … to solve these problems and not get caught up in the deep tribalism that is happening.” 

Bashaw and Kim were asked separately by audience members about the 2022 federal CHIPS and Science Act and both agreed New Jersey had missed an opportunity to leverage some of the $53 billion in funds available to bring semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S. 

“I’d love to be able to see that kind of resource coming to New Jersey – we’re not seeing a play for it,” Kim said. The State of New Jersey needs a stronger strategic plan to grow innovation and build out advanced manufacturing, he said. 

Bashaw said, “Bipartisan bills to help partner with business and support economic growth I think are a legitimate thing for government to do with public private partnerships. So why haven’t we done better with that particular Act?” 

Both candidates noted that New Jersey had done very well under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to secure funding for transportation projects and other infrastructure needs. 

One attendee from the agriculture industry asked the candidates about the Israel-Hamas conflict, which aside from being a humanitarian crisis also poses a risk to the global fertilizer supply and could bring higher oil and natural gas prices if the conflict broadens and escalates. 

“I think about this a lot as someone who has worked in diplomacy and national security,” Kim said, noting that in his prior career in the State Department he worked on the Middle East and Iran’s exportation of violence throughout the region. 

Kim said he felt strongly that “Israel had a right to defend itself” but that a broad regional war would be devastating for everyone. 

“As someone who works with diplomacy, I do want to make sure we bring this violence to a close as quickly as possible, prevent the kind of escalations that we see, get the hostages back and be able to move forward with a sense of global peace,” Kim said. “It’s not easy but I’ve worked in these situations before.” 

Bashaw said he believes “Israel not only has a right to defend itself, but to win.” 

“I think that the United States doesn’t negotiate with terrorists – I’m not sure why we’re asking Israel to,” Bashaw said. 

“My opponent called for a ceasefire immediately after the war started and has repeatedly done so,” Bashaw said. “He believes in diplomacy, which we all think is important, but calling for a ceasefire with the terrorist organization almost emboldens them.” 

Photo Caption: (L-R) U.S. Senate candidates Curtis Bashaw and Democrat Andy Kim spoke separately to businesspeople at an NJBIA candidate forum in Trenton on Wednesday, Oct. 16.