Curtis Bashaw (left) – Photo: Campaign Website; U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (right) – Photo: U.S. House of Representatives
Garden State Equality Action Fund, the political arm of the LGBTQ advocacy group Garden State Equality, has endorsed a straight Democrat for New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race over an openly gay Republican.
The organization is endorsing Democrats for every federal office this year, including the presidential race, the U.S. Senate race, and all 12 congressional races.
Six Democratic incumbent members of Congress are being endorsed, plus presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who decided to run for the Senate instead of pursue re-election to his House seat.
The group is endorsing Kim is over Curtis Bashaw, the Republican Party nominee, who is openly gay.
Bashaw, a hotel developer from Cape May County who describes himself as a pro-business moderate, won the GOP primary in July with 45.8% of the vote in a four-way race.
Bashaw, as a married gay man, supports same-sex marriage and protections for gay and lesbian individuals from discrimination. He is also pro-choice and recently praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing access to mifepristone, a widely available abortion pill.
However, he previously said that he supported the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the issue of abortion access in the hands of state regulators.
It’s unclear where Bashaw stands on other LGBTQ-related issues — and his presence in the race raised questions about whether an LGBTQ person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, alone, makes them worthy of a political endorsement.
“While Curtis Bashaw’s potential election to the U.S. Senate would indeed be historic, after careful review of his responses to our questionnaire, it is clear that his positions do not meet our criteria for being a true pro-equality candidate,” Jeannine Frisby LaRue, the chair of Garden State Equality Action Fund, said in a statement.
“As a woman of color who has broken barriers in my own career, I understand the importance of representation. However, representation alone cannot outweigh the need for leaders who prioritize the safety and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community, especially our youth,” LaRue added. “Curtis Bashaw’s responses fell short of the commitment we require.”
Bashaw’s campaign decried the endorsement of Kim, a straight man, accusing Garden State Equality of bias and failing to focus on which Senate candidate would actually improve the lives of LGBTQ people.
“It’s absurd,” Bashaw spokesperson Jeanette Hoffman told the New Jersey Globe. “There’s a historic opportunity to elect the first openly gay U.S. Senator in New Jersey history, and Garden State Equality made their endorsement based on partisan politics.”
It remains unclear whether specific stances Bashaw has taken may have cost him the group’s endorsement — although, based on the organization’s repeated references to “protecting LGBTQ+ youth,” it may be related to issues such as parental notification, including “forced outing” policies, “Don’t Say Gay”-style laws, or the ability of transgender youth to access gender-affirming health care treatments for gender dysphoria.
There has been limited reporting on where Bashaw stands on such issues.
Metro Weekly inquired as to which policy positions may have cost Bashaw the group’s endorsement. But Garden State Equality did not respond to a request for comment or send a copy of Bashaw’s responses as of press time.
