New Jersey Senate Candidate Appears to Freeze Up in Scary Moment During a Debate

Republican Curtis Bashaw is one of two candidates vying to succeed Bob Menendez, who resigned following his conviction on bribery charges in July

<p>Mike Catalini/AP Photo</p> Curtis Bashaw on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024

Mike Catalini/AP Photo

Curtis Bashaw on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024

A Senate debate between Democratic Rep. Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw turned scary over the weekend when the GOP candidate appeared to have some sort of medical episode.

Viewers watching the Sunday, Oct. 6. debate between the two candidates vying to replace convicted former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez saw Bashaw, 63, freeze up while responding to a question about affordability.

Video of the incident shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) showed Bashaw falling forward on the podium while staring blankly ahead.

Kim crossed to Bashaw before asking if he was alright, The Philadephia Inquirer reported. “What?” Bashaw said before Kim repeated, "Are you okay?”

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“Yeah,” the GOP candidate ultimately answered. But when Bashaw was still seemingly frozen, the moderator cut to a commercial.

According to the paper and Newsweek, Bashaw returned to the stage and explained that he hadn't eaten before the debate.

A spokesperson for Bashaw's office told Newsweek that Curtis "is fine" but was "on the campaign trail all day and didn't get a chance to eat."

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"He stepped offstage and had a protein bar and some Coke and came back to debate five minutes later," the spokesperson added.

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When the debate — reportedly the first between both candidates resumed — Bashaw said he "got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn’t eaten so much food today so I appreciate your indulgence."

Related: Sen. Bob Menendez Will Resign in August Following Indictment on Federal Bribery Charges

He also responded after video of the incident appeared on X, saying: "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!"

Bashaw then followed up an hour later to say that he finally got some pizza. "Update: 🍕acquired. Thanks for your support, everyone!" the candidate posted with a photo of him holding a box of pizza alongside a group of supporters.

Menendez was convicted of 16 federal charges in July, following an eight-week corruption trial that centered around his level of involvement with Egypt's government. He resigned from office in August.

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