More than half of voters said in a recent poll they were not that familiar with either Republican Curtis Bashaw or Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, the two candidates running for the open U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.

That might change after a scary moment just a few minutes into Sunday’s debate saw Bashaw freeze up while answering a question on affordability.

Seemingly gulping for air, Bashaw, 64, leaned against the podium with a tight grip, his leg shaking slightly behind it, staring ahead blankly.

Kim, 42, burnishing his always-willing-help persona exemplified by his viral moment picking up trash from the Capitol floor after the Jan. 6 attack, immediately crossed the stage, put his hand on Bashaw’s and asked if he was OK.

“What?” Bashaw said, looking dazed and a little sweaty.

“Are you OK?” Kim repeated.

“Yeah,” Bashaw answered.

Kim, who represents New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, returned to his podium, but Bashaw still didn’t speak, still seemingly frozen.

Kim then gestures to someone off camera to come and offer Bashaw assistance. The moderator, Laura Jones, then cut to commercial.

Although the moment looked like it could have been a medical issue, Bashaw returned after a 10-minute break looking better and explained that he hadn’t eaten all day.

His staff said Monday that he ate a protein bar and had some soda during the break.

The 90-minute debate resumed, with no further incidents.

“I got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn’t eaten so much food today so I appreciate your indulgence,” said Bashaw, a Cape May hotelier and developer running in his first political campaign, returning to the podium.

After the debate, in which the candidates spoke about their differences on abortion, the filibuster, immigration, the economy, a debate in which Kim stressed his efforts at making prescription drugs more affordable and his support for an increase in the minimum wage, and Bashaw portrayed Kim as a D.C. insider and himself as a moderate pro-choice Republican, Bashaw said he was fine.

“I think it’s 72,000 miles on the car since January 2023, working really hard and not remembering how to eat today,” he said. “I just felt a little lightheaded because of the day, the buildup, the campaign, and the lack of food.”

“I thought it went really well other than making a little bit of a spectacle there at the very beginning,” Bashaw added. He said he’d never participated in a formal debate.

National attention

An otherwise mostly sleepy race in a state that is solidly Democratic got a quick hit of media glare from the incident. The seat was previously held by former Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat who resigned after being convicted in a federal bribery case.

Fox News said Bashaw “nearly passed out.”

Others focused on Kim’s role in the episode, and what it said about his character. “Even during a debate he sees his competitor getting visibly sick and still approaches him to check if he’s okay, even asking the moderator to pause,” said one poster on X. “That’s leadership with empathy.”

A Stockton University poll released last week found 51% of voters asked their opinion of Kim, a three-term congressman, said they were either unfamiliar or unsure. Of Bashaw, 81% had no opinion.

Both campaigns declared victory after the debate.

Kim tweeted that he was “heading home down the Turnpike,” after the debate and was “glad I could show the people of NJ what kind of Senator I will be and how I will work tirelessly to find solutions to the problems they face.”

Bashaw tweeted out a photo of him eating pizza with this staff.

The debate was sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, the Rebovitch Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, and On New Jersey. It streamed live online and also aired on C-Span.

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