Curtis Bashaw, the Republican candidate for US Senate in New Jersey, was escorted off stage during a debate with his Democratic opponent Rep. Andy Kim after he abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Bashaw, 63, suddenly stopped speaking in the middle of the debate and appeared to be having difficulty standing.
Kim walked over and asked Bashaw if he was doing OK to which he responded “yeah”.
As Bashaw remained frozen onstage, Kim appears to ask Bashaw’s team for help. An individual then went onstage to escort the Republican Senate hopeful away from the podium.
The debate moderator paused the debate for a commercial break to “address some issues” on the stage.
Bashaw later returned to the debate stage and blamed the incident on not eating.
“I got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn’t eaten so much food today,” Bashaw said. “So I appreciate your indulgence.”
A spokesperson for Bashaw’s office later told Newsweek that he is “fine.”
“He was on the campaign trail all day and didn’t get a chance to eat,” the spokesperson added. “He stepped offstage and had a protein bar and some Coke and came back to debate five minutes later.”
Incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) resigned from Congress earlier this year after he was convicted on federal bribery charges.
Republicans are hoping to flip the seat but they face an uphill battle given that a Republican hasn’t won a Senate election in New Jersey in over five decades and the few polls of the 2024 contest show Kim leading.
